


Trust Exercises

by yachihitoka



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe-No Vampires, Angst, Awkward Romance, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-09 12:32:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 74,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7801993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yachihitoka/pseuds/yachihitoka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In hindsight, Misono thought he should have known that it was only a matter of time before his father tightened his leash again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Misono was thirteen, he’d made a list detailing all of the things that irritated him. It was twenty pages long, carefully composed in perfect handwriting that had dazzled his tutor-until, of course, she’d seen her name printed neatly in the fifth spot, right in between “infectious diseases” and “rooms without chairs.” 

While the list itself had long since disappeared, he mentally added to it quite often (truth be told, there were rather a lot of things that Misono found annoying). The most notable recent addition was gym class, a horror that he hadn’t even been aware existed prior to his first day at a public school. In Misono’s opinion, mandatory physical “education” ought to be banned throughout the entire country, though he vehemently denied that this had anything to do with the fact that he was abysmal at every sport and had all the athleticism of a sea slug. He'd tried many times to get out of the P.E. requirement due to his poor health, but the school administration didn't want to hear it (honestly, one of these days Misono would drop dead from exertion, and he'd certainly be laughing from the grave as the school got hit with enough lawsuits to put _them_ six feet under). 

Of course, his family was affluent enough to get him out of the class if it was deemed absolutely necessary, but Misono's father was currently on a very untimely business trip overseas and thus even more difficult to contact than usual. So thanks to what seemed to be every force in the universe conspiring against him in unison, he’d somehow ended up stuck in a gym every morning with a bunch of sweaty commoners who seemed to think dodgeball was a matter of life and death, praying that he wouldn’t end up in the nurse’s office with a dent in his skull (or at the very least, in his pride). 

Dodgeball was a silly, pointless sort of game to begin with, if you asked Misono (which no one ever did). He preferred more sophisticated pastimes-chess, for example, which conveniently did not involve moving from one's chair, let alone running around like an imbecile and being hit in the head with rubber balls. 

Misono sighed wearily as his driver pulled up in front of the now mostly deserted campus, not at all looking forward to what was sure to be an utterly boring afternoon. As usual, he had elected to skip his monday morning lessons, which only consisted of independent study and gym-and if the staff of this appalling institution expected him to get up early just to partake in their legal methods of torturing children, then they were gravely mistaken. Misono did take academics very seriously, of course, but he could never concentrate during his independent study periods at school-the library was always full of excessively noisy first years, which of course the incompetent teachers decided to do _nothing_ about. It simply wasn’t worth suffering through gym class for, especially considering how much studying he did by himself at home, and he wasn’t at any risk of losing the placement at the top of his class that he’d easily secured almost immediately upon his enrollment. 

It was a very short walk from the street to the main building, thankfully, but even so Misono was out of breath by the time he’d arrived. As he went about switching to his indoor shoes, he suddenly sensed that someone was hovering behind him (he'd gotten quite good at noticing the presence of others, as well as reading their intentions-a survival mechanism of sorts, no doubt, forged by a few months of unrelenting torment from some of his more brutish peers). In this case, his instincts told him that whoever it was meant no harm, which narrowed the list of likely suspects down to precisely two people. He continued to gather his things as slowly as possible, waiting for them to identify themself, though judging by the weird silence, he'd already guessed who it was. 

He was just beginning his daily attempt at getting the combination lock he'd never figured out to do its job when the person, whom he'd correctly identified to be Tetsu Sendagaya (first year, first-rate idiot, and one of the few people he managed to sort of get along with at school) spoke in a familiar, low voice, a bit too close to his ear.

"You have to turn the lock to the side once before setting the combination."

Misono gritted his teeth, annoyed with the unsolicited help he'd been offered from someone who self-proclaimedly “wasn’t good at thinking” (and deciding to soon have a long overdue conversation with Tetsu about personal space). 

"I am perfectly aware of that. Don't tell me things I already know!" He barked in response, glaring at the lock in his hands as if it would somehow be intimidated into cooperation. But of course, he still had no idea what to do with the thing beyond what he'd just learned-he hadn't needed something as stupid as a combination lock at his old school. "To...to the left or the right?"

"Left." 

"Just as I suspected, then!" He finally succeeding in locking the stubborn contraption and turned around to face Tetsu. "I was only asking to make sure, of course."

"Okay." Tetsu blinked, his default expression making him appear to be very bored with the situation as usual. "You're on your way to lunch now, right?" 

“Obviously.” 

Tetsu nodded in affirmation but made no move to leave, and Misono realized he probably intended to walk with him. This wasn't an inherently bad thing, of course-Tetsu was big and thus mildly intimidating to anyone who didn't know him, and so long as he was here, Misono didn't have to worry about being harassed by anyone. But it was so utterly frustrating having to rely on his friends for protection all the time, not to mention the toll it took on his pride, and so Misono stomped away in mock annoyance without bothering to respond further. Tetsu followed him closely, of course, since he couldn't take a hint if Misono beat it into him with a ton of bricks (which would be precisely what he'd _need_ to hit him with in order to make a dent in his brawny exterior. Tetsu easily passed as a college student due to his height and general appearance. Misono, on the other hand, was often mistaken as a middle schooler or less for similar reasons). 

"Hold on a sec, you guys!"

The new voice made Misono stop in his tracks, and he turned around to see Mahiru Shirota (his first friend and the potential person B from the "harmless locker assailant" scenario) emerging from a nearby classroom. He cheerily waved at the both of them as he jogged over, but Misono noted that he looked a bit frazzled-not that this was a particularly surprising occurrence, since Mahiru took it upon himself to do pretty much everything he possibly could at 110% effort in any given situation. 

"I thought the three of us could sit together today for a change," Mahiru continued as he approached them. "Sound alright?"

Misono immediately stood up straighter, taking on a smug, superior tone. "Finally getting tired of your other friends, are you? Well, don't think we'll just immediatly accept you with open arms-" 

"'Sure you can, Mahiru-senpai."

"I was _talking_ , Sendagaya!" Misono exclaimed furiously-a futile attempt to let the two of them know that he was in fact a fellow student and not some fly that they could just disregard whenever they saw fit. "And why does he get to be called "Mahiru-senpai" when I'm just "shorty"?! I'm the same age as he is, you know!"

Tetsu shrugged passively. "It just seems to fit better. You're tiny."

"I'm am not "tiny", everyone else is just too big!" 

“I guess that’s one way of looking at it,” Mahiru said, grinning in obvious amusement.

Misono scowled at him, but inwardly felt rather pleased that they’d get to spend the period together. The whole reason he'd begged his father to let him attend this commoner’s school in the first place was to spend more time with Mahiru, after all. But as it turned out, his friend wasn't exactly a free agent. He had other friends, and _lots_ of them. They flocked around him like moths, only louder and ten times as annoying. Of course, Mahiru had tried to be the bridge between them and Misono, but it was an effort in vain-they were simply incompatible breeds of human, he'd said at the time. What he'd meant was that they were all a bunch of irritating cockroaches, but he figured that Mahiru probably wouldn't have appreciated that sentiment very much. The only one of them Misono even remotely got along with was Tetsu, but he didn't really put him in the same category as Mahiru's other friends, considering that he was a first year, and as such had only known the two of them for a few months. In Misono's mind, this put him far below the others in terms of the threat he posed. The problem with the rest of them was that they were all childhood friends, which gave them an instant advantage over Misono when it came to Mahiru, simply because they'd known him for longer. 

Now that Misono thought about it, it could definitely be said that Mahiru had managed to attract a rather alarming number of bizarre people as companions. His usual group of friends were fairly ordinary, but there were others that Misono had no idea what to make of. One such example was a third year named Licht, a musical genius who Misono was sure was suffering from some sort of untreated mental disorder that had him operating under the delusion that he was a literal angel. He'd even attached what appeared to be self-crafted wings to his hoodie (which he wore every single day, even during the summer). He was usually accompanied by another boy-Hyde, an oddity with terrible dip-dyed hair who quoted shakespeare way too often and insisted on being called 'Lawless' by those he wasn't on familiar terms with, which Misono refused to use on the very reasonable grounds that it was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. Licht and Hyde fought so often it had become somewhat of an infamous school spectacle, but their altercations were usually very one-sided (Licht had an incredibly effective roundhouse kick). 

And then, of course, there was Sakuya Watanuki, who was Mahiru's best friend and a strong contender for the most insufferable person in the universe. Ever since the bastard had thought it was a good idea to “jokingly” refer to him as an “arrogant little goblin with stupid hair” in his very presence, Misono hadn’t really been too keen on getting to know him any better (the hair comment was particularly irritating due to the sheer hypocrisy. Clearly, Sakuya had never so much as glanced at a mirror). 

Upon getting their food, the three of them retreated back to a table at the far end of the cafeteria. However, to their mutual surprise, it wasn't empty as it usually was. Instead, a very unlikely figure was slumped over the table, looking to be either asleep or dead (in all honesty, Misono rather hoped that it was the latter). He recognized the tuft of unkempt white hair immediately to belong to Kuro, who was Mahiru's housemate-and though Misono usually compared him to a cat, he was really more suited to be called a leech than anything else. Not the kind that sucks blood, of course (although Misono wouldn't be entirely surprised if he did that as well), but one that drained every last drop of money, time, and energy from its host.

"Kuro?!" Mahiru exclaimed, rushing over and shaking him awake. Kuro raised his head, his hoodie still concealing most of his features.

"What..." He drawled lazily, obviously still half asleep. The hoodie fell back to reveal his sunken, half-lidded eyes, and he blinked for a moment in the sunlight before coming back into focus and fixing his gaze on Mahiru. "Oh, it's you. Finally." 

"What the hell are you doing at my school?" Mahiru hissed, looking around a bit frantically. "If a teacher sees you, they'll have you thrown out for trespassing!"

Kuro yawned widely, obviously not even remotely concerned about his situation.

"Nah. I'm wearin' one of your uniforms." He pulled back his coat to reveal that he was, indeed, clad in their school's attire. "See?"

"But why-"

"We're out of food," He replied, and promptly began eyeing Mahiru's lunch with interest. "Couldn't find any money, either."

"Oh my god-Kuro, I can’t just babysit you all day!" Mahiru said, finally sitting down-Tetsu and Misono followed suit. "Maybe you wouldn't run into this problem in the first place if you, oh I dunno, got a _job_ -"

"Yeah...not doing that." 

Mahiru sighed heavily and picked up his fork, obviously opting to start eating rather than start a clearly well worn-out argument with Kuro. Misono and Tetsu exchanged looks, but didn't say anything more on the matter either. 

Kuro, aside from being Mahiru's roommate, was also quite possibly the laziest human being to have ever disgraced the earth. He was 18 and a high school dropout, but he didn't have a job, nor did he seem to contribute anything of value to Mahiru's hospitality. As far as Misono knew, Mahiru did everything around the house while Kuro just sucked up food like a vacuum and slept all day. Of course, this begged the question as to why Mahiru even put up with such a slob of a roommate in the first place, but no matter how many times Misono asked he got the same response, which was no clear answer at all. Mahiru danced around the subject so much that it was downright suspicious, and Misono had taken to wondering whether or not Kuro was his half-brother of an illicit affair or something. Or worse, just some weird guy that Mahiru had picked up off the street and taken home like an abandoned stray. Misono wouldn't put it past him-his friend really had a heart of gold, so much so that it was likely to get him into some trouble. Mahiru cared about Kuro very much, that much was obvious, and so Misono tried his best to at least tolerate his existence. He figured it was the least he could do for the person who had essentially saved his life, in a metaphorical sense.

"Hey, shorty. I have a question." 

Tetsu's voice pulled Misono from his thoughts, and he looked up, trying to ignore the ridiculous scene playing out in his peripheral vision (Kuro was now attempting to grab food off of Mahiru's plate, unsurprisingly).

"And _I_ have a _name_ , Sendagaya," Misono said, stabbing his fork into his own plate a bit too forcefully. "Not that I expect you'll ever use it."

Tetsu seemed to be deep in thought for a moment before speaking. "What would you do if you if you knew the world was going to end in a week?”

"What sort of nonsensical question is that?!" 

"It's just a hypothetical situation. I had a dream about it last night." 

"I refuse to answer, then," Misono said with an air of finality. "I will not be bothered with silly hypotheti- _don't even think about it, you damn sneaky cat!"_

Kuro, who had switched to eyeing Misono's pudding with malicious intent, had finally made a move. Misono snatched it out of his reach immediately, glaring daggers. 

"Ugh." Kuro slumped down onto the table and pulled his hood up over his head once again. "You're such a pain."

"Oh, because I interrupted your crime?" Misono said loudly, standing up and pointing at Kuro in an accusatory manner. "I won't let your thievery go unpunished this time, you bastard!"

"Misono, sit _down_ , people are staring!" Mahiru said, tugging on his uniform jacket in an attempt to get him to comply. "And Kuro, stop getting him riled up on purpose!"

"I'm not," Kuro said, raising his head up ever so slightly in obvious annoyance to meet Mahiru's gaze. "Just hungry."

"Then go up and get your own food instead of stealing from everyone else!"

"No. It's too much effort." 

"You say that about absolutely everything! And it’s a terrible excuse to begin with!" Mahiru paused for a moment, then tossed his own pudding over to Kuro, who just barely caught it. "You're lucky I don't like this flavor."

Kuro began eating without so much as a "thank you", and Misono looked back at Mahiru in betrayal. 

"He didn't deserve that, Shirota! Look, he isn't even remotely grateful!"

"I know," Mahiru grumbled, shooting a quick disapproving glare in Kuro's direction. "But I don't actually expect any grand displays of gratitude from him at this point."

"Hmph! Well, I'd assume that it's partially your fault he's so spoiled in the first place."

"That’s funny, coming from you," Kuro said dryly, his words muffled as he continued to shovel pudding into his mouth.

"Are you insinuating that _I_ am _spoiled?_ " Misono exclaimed, slapping his hand down on the table dramatically. "That is absolutely ridiculous! I assure you that no one else here thinks that besides you!" He paused momentarily, catching his breath and surveying the table with sudden uncertainty. "...Right?" 

Tetsu and Mahiru exchanged an indecipherable look, before turning back to Misono and saying "Right" simultaneously. Kuro groaned loudly.

"You're all so painful...lying to protect his ego..." Kuro stood up-a wise move, considering that Misono could feel himself physically shaking in anger. "Can't deal with this anymore."

Mahiru frowned, catching his sleeve. "Where are you going now?"

"Home to sleep," Kuro said, expertly twisting out of his grip and proceeding to saunter away, slouching terribly. Misono noticed a wad of bills clenched in his fist that had almost certainly been scrounged up from Mahiru's backpack and pockets. 

"Kuro, wait-while you're out, why don't you go to the interview I set up?" Mahiru called after him, to no avail. He sighed in defeat, turning back to his plate and stabbing a turnip violently. "Or just continue being a shut-in freeloader, I guess!"

"It's unlike you to let him off so easily, Shirota." Misono said, a little bitterly at seeing Kuro get his way, _again._ "Would it be better if I sent Sendagaya to retrieve him?"

"Quit acting like Tetsu is one of your servants, Misono!” Mahiru snapped, then dropped his gaze, looking slightly downcast. “And we can just let Kuro go. I was stupid for expecting...whatever. I’m just gonna go study a bit before class.”

Misono watched him collect his tray and leave, a little concerned with the out of character apathy he'd been displaying. Normally, Mahiru's downfall was caring too much, especially when it came to his friends. He acted almost motherly towards the people he was close to, a trait which Misono had come to appreciate-though of course, since most of this "motherly instinct" fell upon Kuro, many people likened Mahiru to a housewife when it came to him. Misono didn't like this comparison for a number of reasons, most of which revolved around the fact that he did not consider Kuro to be the choice example of a husband that would befit his dearest friend (not that he imagined that Mahiru would ever be getting a husband...but if he were to have such inclinations, then Misono thought he ought to at least chose one who wouldn't be unemployed for all of the foreseeable future).

"Shirota is behaving rather strangely, don't you think?" Misono said, frowning as he watched Mahiru disappear into the crowd, having shaken all thoughts of "housewives" and "deadbeat husbands" from his conscious mind. 

Tetsu looked up from his food, wearing his usual blank expression. "Is he?"

"You didn't even notice?" Misono said, turning to stare at Tetsu incredulously. "Are you aware of just how startlingly unobservant you are, Sendagaya?"

"He's probably tired...or maybe he and Kuro are having issues or something." Tetsu said, shrugging nonchalantly-and to Misono's surprise he too grabbed his tray and stood up. "I'm leaving early today, by the way."

"You too?" 

"I have to work a double shift at the inn." He explained, and Misono must have pouted slightly without meaning too, because he went on to add- "I could walk you home during my break, if you want."

"I-I never asked you to do something like that! Stop making ridiculous assumptions!" Misono snapped. It was baffling to him that Tetsu was thick enough to believe that he ever walked home in the first place, considering how difficult just walking from one end of school to the other was for him. 

"Ah. Okay." 

The two of them looked at each other for silence for a moment, then Tetsu pushed his chair in, grabbing Misono's tray in the process to throw out his trash (they normally flipped a coin to decide who would do this, as Misono had pointed out that it was a waste for both of them to have to maneuver across the entire crowded cafeteria to the garbage bins.) He watched Tetsu leave with a twinge of annoyance, though he told himself it was not because he'd actually wanted his company for the rest of the day. Still scowling, Misono slung his bag over his shoulder and sauntered off in the general direction of his next class. 

\---

Luckily, Misono made it home at the end of the day without much trouble, though his driver seemed to be confused as to why he was out of breath when he got into the car (it was because he'd ran all the way from his last class to the street-which was a very short distance, of course-but for Misono it may as well have been a marathon). 

As usual, Lily was waiting for him at the door, and he was immediately bombarded with a slew of questions about how his day had gone, which Misono answered as briefly as possible. Lily was a very odd sort of man, and an even odder choice to be the household's head butler. His duties were entirely centered around Misono's protection and general well being, so he tended to be a bit overbearing. Almost motherly, if there was any mother who preferred to carry out household duties half naked (this was easily the most irritating part about Lily. Misono had seen much more than he ever wanted to of his butler's body). Considering Misono's own mother had died quite a few years back, however, it was occasionally nice to feel the familiar, warm sort of love that Lily often showed him-when he wasn't making an idiot of himself by stripping at random, that is. 

Upon successfully shaking him off, Misono retired to his room, starting in on his studies right away as he always did. He was always very careful to make sure and get the top scores of his grade in every test. Admittedly, he was naturally quite intelligent-even at his old school he placed in the top 1%, and he'd had much more competition there than at the public school he now attended. But reserving at least three hours a day on his studies was a routine he didn't feel any need to break. However, considering that Misono was almost always in bed by 9 on the dot, this left him with only three hours to himself. Normally during such times he would read in the garden or play chess with someone in his household, before having a bath and then retiring back to his room to sleep. It was a schedule that had been formed naturally through the years of being cooped up in his mansion all day with no friends to waste away the hours with. Of course, he had friends now-well, he had Shirota, who had made it very clear that he thought of them as good friends. He could probably consider Tetsu a friend too, but because he hadn't said the word yet, Misono felt hesitant to use it himself. 

In any case, he certainly didn't feel as trapped as he often had in his younger days, and it was a very welcome change. The loneliness that had consumed his life back then still lingered, but it was fading fast.

\---

It was about seven-thirty pm when he heard a soft knock at his door. This was a fairly unusual occurrence, as Misono was very clear about how much he hated being interrupted while studying (it was on his list, of course). He clenched his jaw in frustration, pausing from his reading briefly but keeping his finger on the line he’d left off at.

“I’m busy, Lily.” 

“I’m afraid this can’t wait.” 

Misono frowned, noting that Lily’s voice sounded unusually soft-not only that, but it lacked the almost musical quality it normally had. The last time he’d heard this tone used, he’d been told that his brother had left the house for good, though he wasn’t given a proper reason as to why he’d run away. Misono had cried for months after that-he was only a child, after all, and he’d idolized Mikuni as any little brother did at that age. Obviously, this tone would not be accompanied by good news. 

“Come in, then…” He said, hoping his voice didn’t betray the agitation he suddenly felt.

Lily opened the door slowly, slipping into the room and quietly shutting it behind him. He offered Misono a small smile-as if something like that would fool him, after being with Lily all these years. It only took a glance at his expression for Misono to realize he’d been right to be nervous. Something was _definitely_ wrong, and Lily was obviously very hesitant to tell him what it was. It was as if he were afraid of how he’d react, which was rare considering Lily had been by his side at the worst of times and had thus weathered all manner of verbal onslaught. Above all, it was unnerving to see him like this-Misono almost wanted to throw him back into the hallway and continue living in blissful ignorance. But he wasn’t that much of a coward. Whatever this was, he decided that he would deal with it in a graceful and mature fashion.

“Misono, there is…” Lily paused, looking as if he was choosing his next words very carefully. “Your father, he...there is a...situation, and….”

“Don’t babble!” Misono snapped, now squeezing his pencil so hard that it would probably have broken in half if he had more upper body strength. “Just...just tell me what’s going on, will you?”

“It’s regarding Kazeo Mibuchi’s son,” Lily said, standing next to him and putting a hand on his back-which was yet another bad sign. Misono swiveled his chair around in response, crossing his arms and glaring up at his butler with much more resolve than he actually had in him at this point.

“Am I supposed to know who this “Kazeo Mibuchi” person is?”

“He’s the CEO of one of the branches of your father’s company,” Lily explained. “He also owns a worldwide hotel chain, so his family is fairly well-known.”

“And what’s that got to do with me?” 

Lily sighed, looking down at the floor sadly. “Well, it’s terrible, really...his son was recently kidnapped by some unknown organization. Fortunately, they managed to retrieve him alive after paying the captors, but he’s currently in the hospital with some sort of head-trauma related injury. He can’t even remember his own name, or so I’ve heard.”

Misono frowned, his normally hyper-analytical mind still not connecting the dots. “I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”  
.  
"It isn't rare for the children of rich families to be kidnapped and held for ransom," Lily continued slowly, looking carefully at Misono as if waiting for an outburst. “And your father...well, he’s...concerned.”

“Is he?” Misono said, his tone a little dry. His father hadn’t been very good about keeping in touch on his business trip, to say the very least, so his “concern” felt rather patronizing. “Well, you can let him know that I’m currently doing just _fine_ , so-”

“-He’s told me to pull you out of school.” Lily interrupted, his words tumbling out so quickly that Misono barely caught their meaning. “For...for the time being.”

_...Oh._

Finally, the metaphorical hammer had been struck down-and it was even worse than Misono had imagined. In hindsight, he thought he ought to have realized that it was only a matter of time before his father tightened his leash again. Perhaps it was that he didn’t want to so much as _consider_ the possibility. He’d been absolutely miserable when he was trapped inside all day with no one to keep him company. Going back to that-whether it was for a week, a month, a year, or the rest of his life-was unthinkable. Misono found himself physically recoiling, swiveling his chair around again so that he was facing his desk and staring down at the open chemistry book (he couldn’t read a word of it. The letters were blurring together). There was a period of silence for a minute or two, the tension in the air almost unbearable-Lily was clearly waiting for Misono to have some sort of verbal reaction to the news.

“No.” He said finally, his voice as steady as he could possibly manage. “No, I won’t accept that.”

“I’m afraid he’s made up his mind. I tried my best to convince him otherwise, but-”

“I said I won’t! Call and tell him I’m staying in school whether he likes it or not!” The steadiness broke, and Misono stood up, glaring at Lily in a way that was supposed to be adamant but probably came off as pathetic. “And while you’re at it, please remind him that he promised to treat me like an adult from now on!” 

Lily gave him a watery eyed look of pity that almost hurt. “Misono…”

“Don’t even _think_ about-”

“Misono! I’m so sorry!” He wailed, flinging himself around Misono in a stifling hug. “I know you hate being stuck in the house!”

“Get off me, Lily!” Misono slipped out of his reach, not in the mood to be coddled. He was angry-no, _furious_ , and hurt and confused and a million other things, all directed at his father. 

"I might be able to convince him to let you go with a few bodyguards-"

"I can't have bodyguards following me around all day!" Misono said, shuddering at the mere thought of what the other students would say. "Besides, I...I have people who will protect me if anything happens-not that I can’t protect myself-"

"Your father would never accept that, Misono. It's not teenage delinquents who he's afraid will be after you. It's hardened criminals."

"What sort of “hardened criminals” are going to be looking to kidnap me at _school?_ " 

"I understand why you’re upset, but he's really just trying to look out for you-" Lily began, but Misono was not ready to hear any excuses made on his father’s behalf.

"I don't care what he’s _trying_ to do, all that matters is that he’s breaking his word and locking me up again!” Misono collapsed onto his bed face-down, wishing he could sink into the mattress and have it envelop him like a cocoon. “Lying _bastard_...I won’t forgive him for this.”

"Misono-"

"Just leave me alone." He said miserably, his voice heavily muffled by the pillows he had his head buried in. 

The door opened and shut after a moment, and Misono let out a truly pathetic sob of despair that he was glad was stifled by his bedding. He thought he might understand for the first time why his brother Mikuni had left the house-in this moment, he wished he could do the same. But he wasn't deluded enough to think he could actually survive on his own without his family's money or protection. It was one thing for Mikuni, who had his own network of shady individuals and means of survival, but Misono would be completely alone (on top of being frail and sickly). He thought briefly about trying to move into Mahiru’s apartment, but he knew his friend already had his hands full with Kuro, and certainly didn’t need another burden placed upon him. The next person to come to mind was Tetsu, of course, but unlike Mahiru, Tetsu's parents were alive and well and not likely to take him in. Besides, he couldn’t just vanish without a trace. Lily would be devastated, and despite the way he acted Misono did care about his feelings. For so many years, Lily had been the closest thing he’d had to a friend (even if he did technically work for him), so the idea of leaving him like that was inconceivable. 

Mahiru would be furious when he found out about this. He’d probably barge in and demand to speak to his father, just as he’d done a year ago when Misono had been forbidden from going to a festival that they had planned on attending together in the early days of their friendship. In fact, it was mostly thanks to Mahiru that Misono had been allowed go to a normal school to begin with (his life at his previous academy had been far from normal, and before that he’d been tutored at home). But considering his father was still on his business trip overseas, there was really nothing that could be done. The universe was cruel, to give him what he'd so desperately wanted-independence, a sense of belonging, friendship-only to rip it away like this. It might have been better if he'd never had it to begin with, at least then he wouldn't know what he was missing. His petty complaints about school life seemed so stupid now-even gym class was preferable to the ball and chain connecting him to the garden he’d grown up in (wasted away in, more accurately. His outward personality hadn’t always been this cold). 

There was another knock at his door, and Misono felt his temper flaring up yet again. He was certainly not in the mood to “talk about his feelings” or whatever Lily surely had in mind this time. 

“I told you to go away!” Misono said, lifting his head up as he heard the door creak open. However, much to his shock (and utter horror), it was not his butler who was standing in the threshold, nor was it another one of the household’s many servants. “...S-Sendagaya?!”

Tetsu nodded in greeting, stepping inside the room without being invited. Misono quickly turned around, wiping his eyes as subtly as he could before facing Tetsu again, putting on his best glare to distract from the obvious signs that he’d been sort-of crying a moment before.

“Who let you in?”

“One of your servants, I think,” Tetsu said nonchalantly, as if it was perfectly normal and decent to show up at someone’s house with no prior notice given. He looked around, seemingly impressed by the sheer size of the room and all the fancy decor-but when his eyes landed back on Misono, he frowned slightly. "Were you crying just now?"

"I wasn't!" Misono said, running his sleeve over his eyes once more for good measure (which probably made it even more obvious, in hindsight). "What are you doing here, anyways?"

“I forgot to return the notes you let me borrow last week." Tetsu held out the notebook he had been carrying, and Misono just stared at it, feeling like bursting into tears again. He turned away, trying not to let his voice betray just how much this whole situation was affecting him.

"I don’t need them anymore." 

“Why not?"

"My father has forbidden me from leaving the house, so I will no longer be attending school. In fact, you might as well just take the rest of my supplies while you’re here, seeing as they’re useless to me now.” Misono stood up in an instant, grabbing everything that had been on his desk and walking over to shove it all at Tetsu, who accepted it in obvious surprise. “And remember to lock the door on your way out. You wouldn’t want me _escaping_ or anything-”

“Hold on.” Tetsu dropped everything he’d been holding unflinchingly, and it all clattered to the floor loudly. “I’m confused. Is this some kind of punishment? Are you being grounded?”

"I am not “grounded”, whatever that means! The only thing I did wrong was trusting my father to keep his word!” Misono said, clenching his small fists in anger. “He's worried that I'll get kidnapped if I leave the house, like the son of one of his CEO acquaintances. As if I’d ever allow such a thing to happen!"

"I wouldn't let you get kidnapped at school. Neither would Mahiru."

"That's what I told Lily!" Misono said, sitting back on his bed as he felt a wave of exhaustion hit him-his tantrum had worn him out quite a bit. "Clearly, I was mistaken in thinking that my father would treat me as anything but a child." 

Tetsu was silent for a moment, frowning to himself. “So what are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know,” Misono said quietly after a long pause. He rarely admitted to that sort of thing, but in this situation, he was desperate for all the help he could get. No blow to his pride could possibly be worse than being alone again. “I only just found out about all this. I haven’t had time to come up with a solution.”

"I’m not sure if I’ll be much help..." Tetsu murmured, then lit up as if he'd thought of something. "I could ask Hugh. He always has good ideas."

"Hugh is _five_ , you idiot!" Misono snapped, baffled that Tetsu actually willingly took advice from his nephew. "If I can't figure out something, I hardly think he will be able to!"

Misono immediately felt guilty about lashing out, but Tetsu didn’t seem to be offended. Instead, he sat down next to him on the edge of his large four poster bed, exhaling deeply as if this were a troubling matter for him personally as well. "You're really upset about this, aren’t you?" Misono hesitated for a minute before nodding, still averting his eyes. “Do you think if I promise your dad I’ll be with you all the time, then he’d let you come to school?”

“He would only allow that if you happened to be an actual trained bodyguard. Besides, he isn’t even in the country-it’s Lily you’d have to convince.” Misono paused suddenly, his eyes widening as the most obvious solution to this problem finally occurred to him. “Right, it’s...it’s _Lily_ I need to…..LILY!”

Lily came barging in so quickly upon hearing his name that Misono was almost positive he’d been eavesdropping on them. “What is it, Misono?” 

“I need a favor,” Misono stated, then deciding it sounded too much like a question, added- “I won’t accept any answer other than yes.”

“That’s not really a favor, then…” Lily said, smiling a little bit in amusement. “But what is it?”

“I need you to lie to my father for me.”

There was a long pause in which all that could be heard was a vacuum humming in the next room as one of the household’s many other servants went about their duties. Of course, Misono knew this was a long shot. Lily was an employee of his father, after all. This was much more than just a favor-he was asking him to betray the man he’d worked for for the last seven years, a man who trusted him with the care and protection of his only remaining family. If the stakes weren’t so high, Misono might feel a little bit guilty about all this, but the alternative wasn’t an option. He had to make this work. The way he saw it, this was his final hope.

When Lily finally spoke, his tone was laced with something that sounded a lot like pity, which Misono tried to ignore. He _despised_ being pitied (it was number seven on his list, incidentally).

“Misono, I can’t possibly-”

“Listen!” He barked, pointing at Tetsu. “This guy is willing to lay down his life to protect me, so just tell father that he’s a real bodyguard, and he won’t know any better!”

Lily turned to Tetsu for the first time. “And you are...?”

“Sendagaya Tetsu. My greatest strength is that I can lift 100 kilograms. My weaknesses are math and-”

“This isn’t a job interview, Sendagaya!” Misono said, glaring at him pointedly in an effort to get him to keep quiet. “Anyways, as you can clearly see, he’s perfectly suited for this sort of thing, so-”

“Do you realize that I’ll be fired on the spot if your father ever found out that I lied to him, even by your command?” Lily said quietly, and Misono faltered for a moment. He couldn’t imagine the household without Lily around. He didn’t _want_ to imagine it. Turning to Tetsu, Lily continued in the same hesitant sort of tone. “And he won’t be overseas forever. When he comes back, you would have to act like a real guard in every sense. Which means accompanying Misono everywhere, any time he leaves the house, until his father’s worries dissipate. Are you really fine with that?” 

Tetsu nodded, shrugging casually as if this was all very routine for him. "Yeah, as long as I don’t have to move in. My parents wouldn’t allow that."

Lily stared at him for a moment, then sighed in what was clearly resignation, turning to face Misono again. “I feel as if I’ll immediately regret this, but...I just can’t stand to see you upset, Misono. Your safety is my priority, but so is your happiness."

“You’ll allow it, then?” Misono cried, standing up and gazing at Lily with wide, hopeful eyes.

"For...for now, yes.” Lily said, and Misono felt like the weight of the world had just been lifted from his shoulders. “However, understand that if there's a specific threat against the family, or any reason to believe you’re in serious danger, then this ends immediately.”

“That is acceptable. It’s a deal, then.” Misono said quickly. He paused after speaking, momentarily hesitant-but he swallowed his pride and nodded in Lily’s direction. “Thank you, Lily.”

Lily gave him a warm smile. “Of course, Misono.”

He stood there for a moment before bowing out, leaving the two of them alone again. Misono let out a huge sigh of relief, turning to Tetsu-who was looking back at him with an odd sort of expression. 

“What?”

“Oh, I was just wondering why you and your butler use each other’s first names. Is that normal?”

“No, probably not...but he’s been with my family for a very long time. It would feel unnatural to force him to call me “young master” or something silly like that.”

“Well, I kind of work for you too now, right? So you should call me Tetsu from now on.’”

“Unless you stop calling me “shorty”, I fail to see why I should refer to you in such a familiar way.”

“Hm.” Tetsu paused for a moment, frowning thoughtfully. “Okay, then….Misono, pass me the salt.”

“ _What_ salt?”

“I was just trying your name out, Misono.”

“Why do you associate me with salt?!”

“I don’t, Misono.”

“Shut up! Stop saying it so much!” He was blushing furiously now, though he didn’t quite know why, which was irritating. “I never actually _agreed_ to use your given name if you used mine-”

“It’s okay." Tetsu interrupted, proceeding to do the worst possible thing he could have in that moment and smiling-not a bright, open grin like Mahiru's, but a far cry from his usual minimal expressions. “But you can, if you ever want to, since we’re friends and all.”

Misono immediately felt as if someone had replaced the contents of his stomach with a ferociously shaken wasps nest (a strange and unfamiliar sensation that immediately earned a spot on his list). 

“F-friends?” He stuttered, and upon seeing the a look of confusion on Tetsu’s face cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. “Yes, well...I shall keep that in mind, Sendagaya.”

It was sort of embarrassing, that he should feel so happy just to have Tetsu confirm the friendship that probably should have been obvious, but Misono was always in need of validation when it came to this sort of thing. He wasn’t _used_ to having friends. When he was younger, he’d thought he had befriended some of the neighborhood children, but as it turned out his father had actually paid them to come over and play with him. That alone had been such a blow to his self esteem that it was difficult to trust anyone afterwards-and yet, here he was, placing his trust in Tetsu, someone he’d known for barely a month. It certainly felt like they’d been friends longer than that. There was something about him that made Misono feel comfortable-safe, even, which he supposed was an excellent quality for someone who was supposed to be his bodyguard, even if it was technically just a ruse.

Misono kept thinking about Tetsu long after he left, wondering why he’d ever thought to put him on his list in the first place. Sure, he wasn’t really the brightest person Misono knew, and he was blunt and tactless without meaning to be, but he was also a good person-a good _friend_. Not that Misono really had any basis for comparison of what a “good friend” ought to be like, aside from Mahiru, who was probably the textbook definition of the phrase. And so, despite the precarious situation, Misono retired to bed feeling downright cheerful. It was nice, having people he could rely on in times like these. If things continued this way, he might just manage to make even more friends before he graduated, when a year ago the idea of having even _one_ person he could call a friend was unthinkable. The word itself still was caught in Misono’s throat, as if his body and brain were in opposition as to whether he ought to bother getting his hopes up only to have them inevitably crushed. 

But that was all in the past now, and Misono refused to let it stay with him any longer. Things were going to get better from here on out-he was _sure_ of it.


	2. Chapter 2

“This is crazy. You guys are _crazy._ ” 

Mahiru wasn’t taking the news of their situation as well as Misono had hoped, to say the very least. 

He was currently pacing back and forth in the hallway, visibly agitated to the point where the other students seemed to be actively keeping him at an arm's length as they passed by, as if the nervous air he was giving off was contagious. Misono knew he ought to have expected this, considering his friend was the sort of person who generally valued honesty and open communication (though he had been known to lie on occasion, if the situation desperately called for it-and Misono would firmly argue that their current situation most definitely fell into that category). But even so, Mahiru didn’t seem to understand the utter necessity of this particular lie. He looked as if they’d just told him that they planned to kidnap the prime minister, rather than what Misono considered to be a perfectly reasonable solution to an unforeseen and unpreventable problem.

“Misono, do you honestly not realize how ridiculous this whole thing is?” He continued after another minute of distressed muttering to no one in particular. “There’s literally no way this is gonna turn out to be anything but a total disaster.”

“Nonsense! It was a brilliant idea!” Misono said, waving his hand dismissively. Tetsu nodded in agreement. 

“Misono comes up with really smart plans.”

Mahiru looked between the two of them, obviously not convinced. “Oh really? And what are you gonna do when your dad comes home?”

“I will train Sendagaya to be prepared for such a situation.” 

“You’ll _train_ him? What is he, a dog?”

Misono just huffed in response, continuing to walk to the library, where he intended on spending his lunch period (it was the only time of day that it was actually quiet, after all). Mahiru and Tetsu trailed after him despite having different destinations, the former still launching a string of complaints at Misono, who was wholeheartedly regretting having told him about the situation in the first place. Mahiru was trustworthy and kind, but he was also incredibly meddlesome-and while this often ended up being a help to Misono, right now it was just a huge bother. Couldn’t he understand that this whole thing was not a first choice, but a last resort?

“Seriously, we should at least try and reason with your dad instead of coming up with elaborate schemes to fool him! It’s worked once before.”

“Lily has already attempted to talk him out of it, but he’s not listening,” Misono said firmly. “Besides, you’ve got enough to deal with at the moment, Shirota. I absolutely won’t allow you to take on my problems as well.”

“You’re worried about that?” Mahiru’s tone softened quite a bit, his eyebrows turning up into an expression of concern. “Hey...just ‘cause Kuro can be a pain sometimes doesn’t mean I don’t have time for you, okay?”

Misono felt himself blushing, rather touched by Mahiru’s words (he hoped it didn’t show on his face, but knew better than to count on it). 

“Y-yes, well...in any case, I assure you I have the situation completely under control.”

“If you say so, I guess...but anyways, you really don’t need to worry about me and Kuro. He’s actually been doing better lately-yesterday was just a bad day,” Mahiru continued, absentmindedly picking at the cat strap that hung from his backpack. “He’s even helping out a little bit more around the house. Yesterday when I got home he’d picked up all his snack wrappers from the floor.”

“Cleaning up after himself for once? Someone ought to give him a medal.”

“Well, we can’t all have maids following us around with a dustpan, Misono.”

Misono scowled at him, stopping in front of the library and turning to face the two of them. “Thank you for your unneeded input, Shirota. You’re both free to leave now.” 

He turned around without waiting for a response, storming into the library with the intent of studying for a chemistry test that was scheduled to take place in two weeks. He hoped it would keep him preoccupied enough to forget about this whole mess for awhile, at the very least. 

“Are we gonna go back to the cafeteria after this? I’m kind of hungry.”

“What the-” Misono jumped a bit, turning around in surprise to see that Tetsu was still following him, despite having been very clearly dismissed. “What are you still doing here? I told you to leave!”

Tetsu blinked at him and tilted his head to the side slightly, obviously confused. “Aren’t I supposed to stay with you all the time from now on?”

“Of course not! Haven’t I made it perfectly clear that this is all pretend?”

“But if something happens to you when I’m not around-”

“Do I look like I need your protection, you bastard?!” He said angrily, crossing his arms in defiance. Tetsu opened his mouth, obviously about to reply, but Misono cut him off. “Don’t answer that!”

Tetsu shifted in place, frowning in what might have been concern. “I guess I’ll go back to lunch, then... you can text me if you’re in trouble, though.”

“Yes, I’ll be sure to notify you immediately in the likely case of a knife-wielding lunatic showing up in the school library.” Misono said sarcastically, turning around-and then immediately doubling back after a moment in remembrance. “W-wait, just one thing, Sendagaya...I, um...I believe that it would be beneficial if you were to...to come to my home after school.” He cleared his throat, berating himself inwardly for sounding so nervous about it (it wasn’t like he was inviting him over as a friend-this was _buisness_ ). “This isn’t optional, so meet me by the gates at the last bell! And you had better be on time!”

Tetsu shrugged nonchalantly. “Okay.”

He walked away without further protest, leaving Misono alone to his studies. 

\--

Of course, Tetsu _wasn’t_ on time, and Misono was left tapping his foot impatiently and checking his watch every few seconds until he finally showed up (Misono still wore his watch every day without fail, despite Mahiru’s perfectly ridiculous claim that it was “uncool” and “out of style”).

“You’re three whole minutes late! Is punctuality of no concern to you?” Misono said as soon as Tetsu was within earshot, eyeing him in disapproval. “Don’t think for one moment that my father will be as forgiving as I am!”

“Sorry, my last class was held up for awhile. Our teacher got mad and called us all “a conglomerate of immeasurable idiocy.” I don’t really know what that means, but it doesn’t sound good.” 

His tone was very casual, and it was obvious that he wasn’t too bothered by it. But Misono-despite the fact that he pointed out Tetsu’s idiocy on a regular basis-found himself very irked by this information (somehow, it was very different when it was someone _else_ who was calling Tetsu an idiot, even indirectly).

“How unprofessional of him. Clearly he’s just covering up his own incompetence as an educator.”

“Yeah, maybe. We were being kind of slow, though,” Tetsu said, looking around and brightening a bit when he caught sight of the car Misono was standing just to the side of. “Is this yours?”

“My fathers, yes.”

“Looks expensive.”

“Not really. It can’t have been more than ten million yen or so.”

Tetsu turned his gaze back to Misono, eyebrows raised in a rare show of surprise. “That’s cheap to you?”

“I...well, it’s just what’s normal in my family, I suppose.” Misono murmured, frowning in thought. In all honesty, he wasn’t very good at cost estimation-the first time he’d bought some aspirin by himself from a convenience store he’d handed the cashier about thirty thousand yen without expecting any change back at all. His value of money was definitely a bit skewed compared to the average person.

The ride itself was rather awkward, but thankfully short. Misono caught his driver frowning back at them in the rear view mirror a few times, as if he was extremely surprised by Tetsu’s presence (he couldn’t be blamed, really. It was unheard of for Misono to bring a friend over-even Mahiru had only been to his house once, and that had been a very brief visit, not to mention rather chaotic). Tetsu seemed very impressed by everything, from the car to the way the gates in front of his mansion opened automatically upon their arrival. Misono thought very briefly that it was actually a bit endearing, but the notion was hastily stifled and forgotten. 

As soon as they stepped across the threshold, Lily was there to greet them-he seemed to have waited at the door for his arrival, even though Misono had told him about a million times that it was completely unnecessary. 

“Welcome home, Misono,” He said warmly, before turning towards Tetsu and bowing slightly. “And welcome back, Sendagaya.”

“You can just call me Tetsu,” Tetsu said, taking his shoes off and looking around the entrance hall in subdued but still easily identifiable awe (despite this being his second visit in the last two days). “This place sure is big.”

“An astute observation,” Misono responded dryly. If there was one thing he was perfectly aware of, it was how needlessly huge his home was. The sheer size of their mansion was always impressive to guests, but it was a complete and utter pain for Misono, who got tired just from walking from his room to the door (he hadn’t been upstairs in years because of his poor stamina). 

“Shall we go to the parlor?” Lily asked, turning back towards Misono, who nodded in response. “Alright, if you’ll follow me...”

He lead the way to the room, which luckily for Misono was not too far from the entrance. The parlor was perhaps one of the largest and fanciest rooms in the mansion, and where his father generally met with and entertained guests (few and far between as they were). Aside from the library, it was probably Misono’s favorite room in their entire home, aesthetically speaking. The walls were covered in old paintings-original editions, of course, enough to fill a small museum-and several small chandeliers hung from the ceiling, sparkling in the light that shone through the many large, velvet curtained windows. 

There were two heavy, glass doors that led out into the gardens on the west side as well-Misono could see the fountain he normally sat beside to read, though he was rather disappointed that it wasn’t running. Most likely, the servants were in the process of cleaning it. He hoped it would be back to its usual state by the evening, which was his favorite time to be outside during this time of year. He preferred the coolness of the night air to sweaty, daytime heat. 

Lily clasped his hands together after a moment, turning to face Tetsu with a purposeful expression.

“First I thought we ought to make you look more professional. A school uniform certainly won’t be fooling anyone.” He held up a bag that seemed to have been produced out of thin air. “Have you worn a proper suit before?”

Tetsu shook his head, and Misono rolled his eyes inwardly. Of _course_ he hadn’t.

“Right. Well I was able to procure one today, why don’t you try it on?”

Lily passed the bag he’d been holding to Tetsu, who opened it immediately and surveyed the contents with a curious look on his face.

“Okay. Right now?” 

“At your leisure.”

Tetsu paused for a moment, then shrugged-and to Misono’s surprise and horror, promptly began stripping right then and there with absolutely no warning, nor concern for the fact that he had company. 

He had to bite back a protest, realizing there was nothing particularly odd about changing in front of others of the same gender (they did it in the gym class locker rooms all the time, though Misono normally elected to change in the bathrooms ever since some muscle-headed delinquent had decided to poke fun at how small and skinny he was in front of the rest of the class). And on top of that, it wasn’t like he was unused to having men strip in front of him at random, considering he lived with Lily. But even so, he felt his face heat up inexplicably and ended up averting his gaze, busying himself with putting away the chess set that had been left out by some of his servants.

After a minute or so, Misono glanced up-thankfully, Tetsu was now fully dressed, though his shirt was a mess and he hadn’t gotten his tie on properly. He looked very much like a child who had showed up to a wedding after being left to his own devices with the formal wear. 

“I need help with this,” He said after a moment’s silence, holding up the tie.

“You can’t tie a tie properly?” Misono exclaimed, staring at Tetsu in disbelief. “They’re part of our school uniform!”

“I just keep mine tied in a knot and put it around my neck every morning. It saves time.”

“Unbelievable….well, I’ll do it this time I suppose, but pay attention! And take those silly clips out of your hair!” Misono said, and proceeded to grab Tetsu by the tie and yank him down so that they were face to face (he immediately regretted doing this upon realizing that there was a lot less distance between them than he’d initially expected). 

“Why don’t I just sit down?”

“Y-yes, I was just going to suggest that. Here,” Misono motioned towards a chair in the corner. As soon as Tetsu was seated he took the hair clips out (he’d never understood why Tetsu wore them in the first place-they didn’t seem to serve any purpose), then went about fixing his collar and tied his tie for him tightly. “This sort of incompetence isn’t going to cut it in front of my father, you know!”

“Indeed,” Lily cut in, having been watching them in silence for the last minute or so. “You must look presentable at all times, or he’ll become suspicious.”

“Okay. I’ll work on it.”

“Very good, very good. Alright then, one last thing!” Lily said as soon as Misono had finished, rummaging through the bag to find the suit jacket, and proceeding to hand it over to Tetsu. “I want to make sure this fits as well, so please try it on.”

Tetsu did as he was told, putting the jacket on quickly (thankfully, he hadn’t needed any help with that). He turned to face the mirror that had been presumably placed in the room by Lily earlier that day, examining his reflection from different angles, his face unreadable. Misono gave him a once over (alright, perhaps it had been more of a _thrice_ over, but he wasn’t keeping count), surprised to find that he didn’t look as silly as he’d initially expected. Quite the contrary, in fact. He looked even older than he usually did-which was really saying something-and the formal wear actually suited him well. It crossed Misono’s mind briefly that Tetsu was rather good looking, from a purely objective standpoint, but he instantly berated himself for making such a useless observation, and vowed to never again so much as consider the fact that Tetsu could _technically_ be considered attractive in a traditional sense. 

But of course, despite his resolve to definitely _not_ think about his friend’s potential attractiveness, he hadn’t thought to drop his gaze-and Tetsu eventually locked eyes with him in the mirror, tilting his head to the side slightly as if he was surprised to find that he was being watched.

“How do I look?” 

”Extremely stupid!” Misono lied, flushing scarlet in embarrassment at having been caught staring. 

“Very handsome” is what I’m sure he meant.” Lily said politely. Misono scowled at him, garnering nothing but a smile in response. “You look at least five years older than you did before.”

“You think I’ll fool his dad, then?”

“Perhaps. It’s lucky that you’re so...well, mature for your age.”

“He’s only mature on the outside.” Misono said, unwilling to get his hopes up from such a small victory. “The second he opens his mouth, father will know something is wrong.”

“Well then, I suppose we’ll have to prepare him for that as well, won’t we?” Lily replied, but Misono noticed that he looked a bit nervous past his carefree exterior. “You’ll have to speak and act very formally and respectfully around him. Do you think you can do that?”

“Sure.” 

“Don’t take this lightly, Sendagaya!” Misono warned, crossing his arms in front of his chest haughtily. “You’ll have to work extremely hard if you’re to pull this off. Of course, with _me_ instructing you I’m sure it’s quite possible-”

“-If I may speak candidly, Misono, I don’t think you ought to be the one teaching him how to act.” Lily interjected, a slight smile tugging at his lips. “Your personality is rather contentious. You can come off as rude sometimes, so if he follows after your example-”

“ _Who’s_ contentious, you bastard!?” 

“Uh...you, right?”

“That was a rhetorical question, Sendagaya! And it wasn’t directed at you to begin with!”

A distant crash and some yelling from out in the hallway suddenly interrupted them, and Lily sighed, obviously able to guess what was going on (most likely, it was the new servants fighting again. Misono hoped for their sakes that the crash they’d just heard hadn’t been the fine china).

“You’ll have to excuse me for a moment.” He muttered in exasperation, turning to Misono. “Continue on without me, alright?”

Misono nodded, and Lily hurried out the door, leaving him alone with the daunting task of turning Tetsu into someone indistinguishable from a member of upper-class society. 

“Not to worry, Sendagaya,” He began, turning towards Tetsu with increased determination. “I assure you that I am perfectly capable of teaching you the proper way to behave, despite what _certain_ traitorous individuals may claim!”

“I wasn’t worried about that. I trust you.”

“W-well, that’s…good, I suppose...” Misono said in a much more subdued tone, surprised as always by how easily Tetsu said rather embarrassing things. “In any case, I think what we ought to do is practice conversing. I’ll pretend to be my father.”

“Okay. I’ll be me.”

“Well, _obviously._ ” Misono straightened up and cleared his throat, deepening his voice a bit. “Let’s begin, then. I am now my-um, Misono’s father, rather...and I order you to state your purpose or get off my property! And...and tell me your credentials, too!”

Tetsu blinked at him, obviously unimpressed. “Your acting isn’t that convincing.”

“Silence, my acting is flawless! Don’t break character!”

“I’m playing myself, so how can I break character?” 

“Stop being so difficult, you bastard!” Misono yelled, stomping his foot on the ground in frustration. “Are you trying to sabotage me?!”

“No, sorry. Can we do it again?”

Misono sighed, knowing Tetsu wasn’t being thick on purpose but still feeling immensely frustrated. “Fine. Take this seriously, will you?” Slipping back into his fake deep voice, Misono tried to think of what his father was really likely to say in this sort of situation. “I don’t recall ever hiring you. Are you the guard that Lily spoke of over the phone?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Tetsu replied simply. “My name is Sen-uh, Sendo....um...”

“Don’t make something up on the spot!” Misono hissed under his breath. “Just use a normal sounding name!”

“Right. I’m Shinomiya Kaori.”

“That’s a women’s name!”

“But I have an uncle named-”

“Anything that makes you stand out is bad! We don’t want him looking into your background, understand?”

“Okay...I’m Shinomiya Kaoru.”

Misono sighed again, wondering if even his low expectations had been an overestimation of Tetsu’s abilities. “Alright. Have you been a bodyguard for a long time?”

“Yeah, for almost 30 years now.”

“Just how old do you expect him to believe you are?!” Misono yelled incredulously, his patience dwindling by the second. “You’re pretending to be in your early twenties, not middle aged!”

“Oh. Right, uh...three years, then.”

\--

They continued this way for almost an hour with very little improvement. Lily still hadn’t returned, and Misono was just about at the end of his rope. He hadn’t expected it to be _this_ difficult to teach Tetsu how to act like he wasn’t a commoner (and moreover, a teenager), but getting anything through to him was like shouting at a brick wall-or perhaps more accurately, a poorly constructed robot that could only answer simple questions and took everything too literally. Misono’s usually constant disdain for the teachers at their school had died down a bit, now that he knew what a difficult job they had. Dealing with an entire classroom full of students like this every single day would take a toll on a _saint’s_ patience. 

“What if I just pretend I don’t know japanese very well?” Tetsu suggested finally, obviously not any more satisfied with his performance than Misono was. “That way, you could just do the talking for me.”

“Why on earth would _you_ , a japanese person who is living _in japan_ , not know how to speak japanese?”

“I dunno. You could say I grew up in france or something, maybe.”

“My father speaks french fluently-one of his company's major branches is operated out of france.”

“Oh.” Tetsu was quiet for a moment, then continued in a curious tone. “Can you speak it, too?”

“I can, yes,” Misono replied, blushing immediately at the awestruck expression on Tetsu’s face. “Y-you’re too easily impressed, Sendagaya! It’s expected to know one or two foreign languages in this day and age.”

Tetsu shrugged. “I was never any good at learning languages. I always get low scores on my english tests.”

“You get low scores in every class.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

As usual, he didn’t bother defending himself at all. Misono was constantly surprised by how easily Tetsu accepted his faults, namely his less than sharp intellect. It was unfathomable to someone like Misono, who was highly defensive in all regards. Even statements of undeniable fact were met with resistance from him (especially anything to do with his height or weak constitution). Perhaps things would be easier if he were more like Tetsu-that is, if it was difficult for others to garner a strong reaction from him. Of course, it was quite possible that Tetsu’s true emotions just didn’t show on his face, but Misono didn’t really think this was likely. After all, he knew Tetsu to be a very straightforward person-blunt and honest to a fault. 

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a heavy door swinging shut- Lily had finally decided to make a reappearance, it would seem. He had quite an array of food in tow, which was much appreciated considering Misono hadn’t eaten anything since lunch (and barely at that, considering the stuff they served at the cafeteria could hardly be classified as anything other than sparsely seasoned plastic). It didn’t escape his notice that Lily looked a bit wound up, no doubt a result of whatever mess he’d just been dealing with, but he smiled at the two of them cheerily nonetheless.

“How are things going so far, you two?”

“Fine,” Misono lied, not wanting to turn him into a nervous wreck again. “We’re making some progress, I believe.”

“Excellent! I’m glad to hear it.” 

Obviously very relieved, Lily placed the tray of food in front of them, and sat down on the couch beside Misono. Tetsu immediately surveyed the dishes (mostly sandwiches and cake, though certainly much more visually impressive than the counterpart one might find in a convenience store) with great interest, as if he’d never seen anything like them before in his life. 

“This looks really fancy.” 

“Does it?” Misono asked curiously, constantly surprised at how very different his working class friends seemed to live. “What would you usually be eating at this time of day?”

“I dunno. Something normal.” He picked up one of the sandwitches, examining it thoroughly before taking a bite-and his face instantly lit up once he did. “It’s really good.”

“Of course it is, all of the cooks we employ are top caliber.” 

“Wow, multiple cooks, huh...” 

Misono went about eating as well, habitually going for the cakes and tarts before anything else. He didn’t like to admit it, but he had never really grown out of his childish love of sweets (he could hardly be blamed, though, considering his father had managed to get one of the top pastry chefs in the country working for them). Misono rarely thought about it, but being surrounded by commoners at school all day made him realize that his family really did have a great deal more money than was entirely necessary for survival, even by his rather high living standards. Certainly, a kitchen of more than ten specialized cooks was a bit overbearing for a family of two, even if it was also true that they had quite an amount of servants that needed feeding.

“These are even better than usual, I think…” Misono said more to himself than anyone else, reaching for his third helping of dessert. 

“Misono, don’t just eat cake, it’s not healthy!” Lily chastised, frowning in disapproval. “You know, living off sugar might be part of the reason you never grew very much despite your father being quite tall-”

“Shut up, Lily! How dare you insinuate that my growth is stunted!” 

As if in rebellion, Misono grabbed a sandwich instead and bit into it angrily with much worse manners than he’d been brought up to have. Lily just chuckled in obvious amusement, watching him like he was some kind of mildly entertaining circus act. 

“Perhaps it is, but you more than make up for your height in spirit.” He said in an affectionate tone, before turning towards Tetsu (who was shoving food into his mouth so quickly that Misono was sure he mustn’t be chewing it at all).“Ah...that reminds me. We need to teach him some table manners.” 

Misono sighed. It was beginning to feel as if this was all an effort in vain. There was so much Tetsu didn’t know about the world of business elites-indeed, there was quite a lot Misono himself didn’t know about his father’s professional life. He still treated Misono like a child in so many ways, and was hesitant to discuss anything work related in front of him, let alone _with_ him.

“Yes, table manners will be important if-” 

“A guest! We have a guest!” 

Misono jumped about a foot in the air as a young girl’s voice rang out from directly behind him, interrupting his sentence. He turned around to see two identical children dart out from behind his chair, scurrying over to Lily and tugging on his jacket. Misono groaned inwardly in annoyance, knowing they were probably up to some sort of mischief-all of the children in their household were troublemakers of some sort, but the twins were the worst by far. Just the other day they’d broken a fifty-thousand yen flower vase whilst playing tag indoors (Lily had taken responsibility, of course, seeing as he was technically their guardian, but Misono knew exactly who the true culprits were). 

“Mayu? Aya? Where did you two come from?” Lily exclaimed, patting them each on the head affectionately. Misono had no idea how he managed to always so patient with the children in his care. “You ought to be in your room studying.”

“That’s _boring_ ,” Mayu whined, pouting dejectedly. “I already know all that stuff anyways…”

“We heard a voice we didn’t recognize, so we came down here,” Aya chimed in, turning her attention towards Tetsu. “Who’re you?”

“Sendagaya Tetsu,” Tetsu replied, gazing back at the twins with an equally curious expression on his face. “Uh, are you two...servants?”

“Of course they aren’t, you idiot! That would violate child labor laws! Just what sort of horrendous people do you think my family and I are?!” 

“Just as Misono says, they are not servants.” Lily said, smiling amicably at Tetsu. “They’re children from the same orphanage that I grew up in. I adopted them, and they live here with me.”

“Yep! We don’t even remember the orphanage though.”

“ _I_ do.”

“Do _not!_ Babies don’t have memories!”

“Now, now, don’t argue…” Lily said loftily from the background, but he went ignored by them as usual.

Aya, being the less shy one of the two, ran over to Tetsu, gripping the side of his chair and rocking back and forth on her heals excitedly. “How come you’re here? Are you Misono’s friend?”

Tetsu nodded, and both Aya and Mayu exchanged awed glances, quickly turning back to him in excitement.

“Misono’s never had a friend over!” Mayu exclaimed, smiling up at him as if he were some sort of angel that had descended from the heavens before their very eyes. Misono immediately dropped his gaze to the ground, hoping neither of them would push the subject any further. Unfortunately, his prayers went unanswered, as she continued her thought in a surprised tone- “I didn’t think he had any...”

“Yeah, me neither!” Aya cut in, turning to Misono and tilting her head.“You were really lonely before, weren’t you? I could tell, ‘cause you didn’t smile at all.” 

Not wanting to be obvious about his disdain for the current topic of conversation, Misono attempted to shut them up with a glare. Of course, this didn’t work, considering the twins were only ten and not generally good with nonverbal cues. Instead, they turned their attention back to Tetsu-Misono only got a glimpse of his face before turning away again, but his expression revealed absolutely nothing about what he might be thinking.

“If you’re his friend now, then you have to make sure he’s never lonely again.” Aya continued, clambering over Tetsu so that she was practically in his lap and jabbing him in the chest. “Make a promise!”

“Yeah...I promise.” Tetsu’s tone was unusually low and quiet, and Misono could feel his gaze upon him, though he didn’t dare look up to meet his eyes.

“Come over every day from now on, then!”

“Yes! Every day!”

“Why don’t you two go play in the yard? No need to study today,” Lily interjected hastily. The twins had started pulling at Tetsu’s arms (as they often did with anyone larger than them), but stopped immediately at Lily’s words, exchanging a glance of excitement.

“No studying?”

“No studying!”

The two scurried off joyfully as quickly as they’d come, their laughter fading into the distance and leaving behind an incredibly awkward atmosphere. 

Of course, Misono couldn’t really be angry at them-they were only children, after all, and they had meant well. But he wished they hadn’t said anything about his past, about how lonely he’d been back then, that before this year he’d never really had anyone he could call a friend. Mahiru knew all of this, of course, having figured most of it out by himself. But Misono was fairly certain that Tetsu hadn’t had a clue about any of it-and that had been perfectly fine by him. Misono didn’t want to be pitied, least of all by his own friends. Was it possible that Tetsu felt sorry for him, now that he knew he’d missed so many experiences that others took for granted? 

A part of him wanted to immediately explain his situation-that his sickly nature was to blame for the solitary existence he’d led, rather than his own social ineptitude-but that wouldn’t have been completely honest. He’d had plenty of chances to make friends at the old academy he’d attended for his first year of high school. But by that point he was far too guarded, too abrasive...completely unapproachable in every conceivable way. There was no one at Mikato Ichinose like Mahiru, who saw past everyone’s faults-or Tetsu, for that matter, whom you probably couldn’t make hate you even if you tried. And so, he’d resorted to acting superior, trying to make his isolation seem like a choice in the eyes of his classmates. It would seem that he’d ended up putting his pride above his basic desire for human companionship.

After an excruciatingly long period of silence, Lily finally clasped his hands together and stood up abruptly, obviously hoping to break the tension in the air. 

“Well, not to rush things along, but it’s already six o’clock. Your parents will want you home in time for dinner I expect?”

Tetsu nodded. “Yeah, probably. ” 

“You’ll probably want to change back into your usual clothes before you leave.”

“Mhm.” 

Tetsu glanced in Misono’s direction momentarily, as if confused by his maintained silence, before standing up and beginning to undress again. Misono made absolutely certain that he didn’t stare this time-the last thing he needed in this situation was to be caught behaving weirdly again.

“Misono,” Lily said, his voice a measured, low tone that Tetsu probably couldn’t hear, “walk him to the door, alright?” 

Misono glared at him in annoyance, knowing he wanted to give them a chance to “talk things out”, which of course would probably make things more awkward than they already were. But he didn’t exactly know how to refuse without appearing cowardly. Hopefully, Tetsu would have enough sense not to push the subject-though Misono was certainly not counting on it, considering that he couldn’t read a situation to save his life.

“Come along, then,” He snapped at Tetsu the moment he was dressed again, beginning to walk away and motioning for him to follow. 

They retreated down the hall in relative silence, the only sounds being their echoing footsteps and the distant laughter of the children in the garden. Misono tried to stay a few paces ahead despite his much shorter strides, but Tetsu caught up to him almost immediately, obviously walking slower than usual to stay by his side. _How annoying._

For a moment, they continued on like that without a word exchanged, and as they approached the door Misono exhaled in relief, grateful that Tetsu seemed to have gotten the hint. 

“Can I ask you something?”

His sigh of relief turned to one of utter defeat. He wanted to say _no_ , that he could _not_ ask him whatever useless, meddling question he likely had in mind-but he knew that it’d just make him look suspicious. Instead, he adopted a tone of false indifference, hoping to at least be able to brush off Tetsu’s inquiries with some measure of dignity maintained. “Fine.”

“Are Mahiru and I really the first friends you’ve ever had?”

It was exactly the sort of question Misono had been dreading, and Tetsu had said it with such nonchalance that he may as well have been asking about the weather. Misono felt stupid for expecting any sort of sensitivity from him. Normally, Tetsu’s simple nature made communication with him rather easy, but at times like this it just complicated everything, and he found himself wishing he was with someone like Kuro instead-in other words, someone who found talking about difficult topics to be too much of a pain to ever willingly engage in. 

“Why does it matter if you are?” Misono finally replied, his tone a bit defensive. “I-It’s not like I was trying to hide it or anything-”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to explain,” He paused for a moment, then continued in a similarly casual tone. “By the way, I uh...I meant what I said back there.”

Misono frowned at him, unable to sort out exactly what he meant. “Be more specific! Are you expecting me to keep tabs on every inane word that comes out of your mouth?”

“When I promised I wouldn’t let you be lonely anymore, I mean.” Tetsu looked up, meeting Misono’s eyes with a rare, indecipherable look on his face. “Mahiru probably feels the same. We’ll keep being your friends no matter what, so you can rely on us a bit more.”

_We’ll keep being your friends no matter what._

_You can rely on us._

_I won’t let you be lonely anymore._

 

The words echoed in Misono’s brain until they seemed to lose their meaning, the structure collapsing and the sounds blending together. He found himself incapable of doing anything other than staring up at Tetsu in utter bewilderment. How was he supposed to even _begin_ to respond to that?

Misono decided, upon regaining a somewhat linear thought pattern, that he’d definitely endured enough embarrassing honesty from Tetsu for one day. It was starting to...affect him. That strange feeling from yesterday was back again, twisting at his gut-a sensation he could only describe as a combination of nausea and butterflies.

“W-what kind of nonsense are you saying now, you idiot!?” He sputtered once he was finally able to speak properly again. “I...I don’t need you comforting me!”

He didn’t wait for a response from Tetsu. Instead, he opted to slam the door shut without another word, as one does in such situations (one as troubled as Misono currently was, that is). 

Misono immediately sunk down against the closed door to sit in a heap at the threshold. There was absolutely no reason he should be feeling like he’d just run a half marathon through a desert, and yet here he was-red faced, heart racing and short of breath. He thought for a moment that he must be ill-perhaps he was suffering from an allergic reaction. Maybe Tetsu used some kind of horrible cologne that he had only just noticed that very moment and was causing these otherwise inexplicable symptoms in him. 

_‘Yes. Allergies-that is clearly the only plausible explanation for all of this.’_ He thought, but somewhere within his subconscious he was aware that this was probably not the case. _‘I’m just sick, as usual. Nothing to get worked up about.’_

After a moment of silence-aside from his slightly labored breathing-he glanced up to see that Lily had silently appeared at the foot of the stairs, and was currently gazing at him with a hatefully knowing sort of look.

“What are _you_ looking at?” 

“Oh, nothing.” Lily paused, nodding towards the closed door. “He’s rather thoughtful. That was a very nice thing to say.”

“D-don’t eavesdrop on my conversations, you bastard!” Misono yelled, his face heating up again. He finally stood up, crossing his arms defensively out of habit and glaring at Lily. “And you’re wrong. He is not even _remotely_ thoughtful-he just says whatever’s on his mind.” 

“Well, in that case, it would that seem what’s on his mind is your well-being, wouldn’t it?” His gaze softened, smiling at him with so much warmth that it was almost uncomfortable. “I’m glad you’ve made another friend, Misono.” 

Misono didn’t respond, mostly because there was no way he could contradict him. He was glad too, that there were people who actually enjoyed his presence, despite his admittedly rather coarse personality. But he’d never admit something like that aloud. 

“I’m going to bed,” He murmured after another moment’s silence, slowly walking past Lily and into the hallway. 

“Tired already? It’s barely dark out...”

Misono ignored him once again, shuffling back to his room and immediately diving into his bed. It had been a long day-a long and _confusing day_ , at that-and Misono felt like he’d need to sleep for a week to properly recover from it. As one who loathed uncertainty, the very nature of this situation was taking a toll on his well being. And now, on top of everything else, there was this….this feeling, whatever it was, what he supposed he’d have to think of as some kind of Sendagaya-related ailment. Which aside from being terribly annoying, was just plain inconvenient, considering all of the time they’d likely be spending together in the foreseeable future. 

His phone buzzed unexpectedly, and Misono hurriedly flipped it open to see a new text from Mahiru (which hadn't been much of a surprise, considering Mahiru was just about the only person who ever texted him).

_-hows it going so far?_  


Terribly. Completely abysmally, in fact. Couldn’t have been worse. But Misono was certainly not about to admit that Mahiru may have been right about this whole thing.

_-It Is Going Exactly According To Plan. Prepare To Eat Your Words Shirota._

His phone buzzed again after a moment.

_-good. btw u sound like a supervillain when u text._

Misono threw his phone to the side grumpily, hugging a satin-cased pillow to his chest. He forced himself to believe that things would be fine despite the day’s events having successfully convinced him otherwise. At the very least, they had _time_ , didn’t they? His father wasn’t coming back anytime soon, as far as he knew-and even if Tetsu’s intellect might be a bit lacking, Misono had been at the top of his class for as long as he’d attended school. Failure was not an option for him-it never was. 

Having managed to squander his doubts for the time being, Misono grabbed a book off of his nightstand, reading until he fell into an abrupt but peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay on this...first week of school, moving in and all that...yeah, it’s been incredibly busy. I’m aiming for a once a week update schedule again, if I can manage it with my current workload.
> 
> Also, thank you so, so much to those who left comments on the first chapter! I appreciate them so much, they’ve been primary motivation. And thanks to anyone reading as well, I hope you'll stick with me through this story.


	3. Chapter 3

Misono hadn’t really been expecting much from the next day, but somehow it had still managed to thoroughly disappoint him. 

The moment he woke up that morning, he’d immediately gone to the computer and typed his symptoms from the previous night into the search bar-mostly because he hated uncertainty on principle, but also because he wanted to make sure he wasn’t dying of some sort of rare disease. But after quite a few minutes of searching, he’d still only found two possible answers: one, he was sick (which was vague and entirely unhelpful), and two, he was _lovesick._

The second explanation was too ridiculous to even consider. Misono had never exactly had a crush on anyone before, but he was positive that it didn’t feel anything like this. Why would anyone want to fall in love if it made them feel like all of their internal organs were self-destructing? 

He figured, then, that he must have caught a virus, or was possibly having an allergic reaction. Elevated heart rate and butterflies weren’t things he’d experienced before in any illness, but even Misono hadn’t yet caught every malady in the book (though there was no doubt in his mind that he would eventually, at this rate). He briefly considered asking Lily for advice, but soon thought better of it. No doubt, his butler would just start spouting off some silly nonsense contrary to Misono’s conclusion that it was just a normal illness. And there was even less of a chance he’d bring it up to Tetsu, considering he really didn’t want to give him the wrong idea about any of this. All there was left to do was ignore it and hope it went away.

The doubts and questions that had piled up since that morning were bad enough, of course, but nothing rivaled the absurdity of his _current_ predicament. He was in the nurse’s office-which in and of itself was not a remotely uncommon occurrence-but rather than illness, it was a sprained ankle he was here for (and while that was a pain in and of itself, the story behind it was what was the real problem). 

It had happened on his way to physics. He’d been walking down the stairs to the second floor, and had the poor luck to run into two of the many upperclassmen boys who liked to mess with him on occasion. These altercations were usually unprovoked, as was the case this time. Misono had done nothing but rush past them wordlessly when one of them (he didn’t know which, since he’d been totally minding his own business at the time) tripped him on purpose. Thankfully, he’d been only a few steps from the bottom, but it had still _hurt_ , and now instead of sitting in class he was here, lying in a box spring bed and being completely ignored by the person who was supposed to be tending to his injury. 

Misono scowled at the nurse’s back in annoyance. She hadn’t paid him an ounce of attention since he’d limped in dramatically, proclaiming that he had “probably broken” his ankle. It was very likely that she was just sick of seeing his face, since even in the best of times he was a very frequent visitor. But his ankle was still hurting, and he was bruised all over from his “accidental fall” (he was not about to admit to her that he’d been tripped), so he felt he deserved at least a moment’s acknowledgement. 

The school nurse was very young, and extremely unprofessional. Misono could clearly see that she was playing solitaire on her computer rather than tending to him (she wasn’t even bothering to _hide_ it). He cleared his throat loudly a few times in an attempt to gain her attention, but it was to no avail, as she made no indication of having heard him at all and continued clicking her mouse idly.

Instead of continuing his fruitless efforts to garner any sort of sympathy from her, Misono gave up and shut his eyes, hoping he could pass the time by napping. However, shortly after he’d started drifting off, a new voice startled him out of his relaxed state. 

“What’re you doing here, shorty?”

Misono sat up quickly to see Tetsu standing in the doorway, staring down at him in only mild surprise. Of _course_ -it just _had_ to be Tetsu of all people, didn’t it? Misono had long since acknowledged that Tetsu seemed to have a penchant for showing up just in time to witness every one of his more shameful moments, but that didn’t make it any less frustrating. 

“Are you sick again?” Tetsu continued when his first question garnered no response. Misono layed back again, brow furrowed in annoyance at having to explain his current situation.

“I...I fell down some stairs.”

“What?” Tetsu immediately rushed forward, his eyes scanning over him carefully (he was suddenly very grateful none of his bruises were visible). “Are you hurt badly?”

“No,” He lied, but Tetsu did not seem convinced. “Well, I did injure my ankle, but-”

“You should ice it. I’ll get you some ice,” Tetsu said quickly, straightening up again and crossing the room to rummage through the freezer as if he was in his own house. Obviously, his presence had been enough to gain the previously disinterested nurse’s attention. She swiveled in her chair to face them, popping her gum loudly and raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, you’ll watch him then?” She said to Tetsu, gesturing vaguely in Misono’s general direction. “Good, I was about to take my lunch break.”

She proceeded to stand up, stretched for a moment, and then grabbed her bag from the desk and left without another word. Misono stared as the door swung shut again, unable to comprehend how someone like her had ever been deemed worthy of a medical license. Did this school just hire every underqualified transient that wandered through its doors?

“She left me in the care of an untrained first year!” He exclaimed incredulously, turning his gaze towards Tetsu. “Can you believe how irresponsible the staff here is? I could file a lawsuit!” 

“Yeah...but don’t worry, I know how to do this.”

If it were anyone else, Misono would have thought they were being sarcastic-but Tetsu was no doubt utterly serious in convincing him that he could, in fact, manage the very intellectually advanced task of putting ice in a bag. 

“I think even _you_ would make a better nurse than that woman, Sendagaya,“ Misono said bitterly as Tetsu returned with the ice, accepting it begrudgingly. “What did you come here for, anyways?”

“My math teacher sent me. I was falling asleep in class.”

“You fell asleep in _class?_ Are you really that tired?”

“I guess. There were a ton of tourists checking into the inn yesterday and they were pretty loud. We got loads of complaints from other guests all night.”

“That sounds unpleasant,” Misono said truthfully, horrified at the mere thought of being in Tetsu’s position. “I’m glad I won’t have to deal with that in my line of work.”

Tetsu shrugged nonchalantly, but failed to suppress a yawn. “Yeah, it can be tiring. But it’s better if I get used to it now, since I’ll own the inn by myself some day.”

“I suppose so…” He murmured. The obvious sense of responsibility that Tetsu had when it came to the inn always took Misono by surprise. It was a rather startling contrast with the blatant disregard he showed for anything to do with his studies. “But in any case, if you’re tired you ought to lie down. ”

“There’s only one bed, and you’re hurt. That’s a much bigger deal than just being tired.”

“I told you it’s nothing. All those cowards did was trip me.” Granted, it had been down half a flight of stairs, but Misono didn’t feel the need to mention that part. “And I’m fine with sitting in a chair, these box spring beds are quite a downgrade from what I’m used to.”

“...Didn’t you say it was an accident?” Tetsu asked quietly after a moment of confused frowning, and Misono’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake.

“Y-yes, well-”

“Who did it?”

“That’s none of your concern. I’m perfectly capable of handling it myself!”

“But I want to talk to them at least, they can’t just-”

“I don’t want those bastards thinking that I just send bigger people to my defense in these situations!” Misono cut him off with an air of finality, narrowing his eyes sharply. “I’m not completely helpless, you know!”

“Sorry, I don’t think you’re...that’s not what I was trying to say, really.” He shuffled in place, looking rather guilty. “Will you let me walk you to your classes from now on, though? Just in case anything happens.”

“Do I really have to remind you that it is not _actually_ your job to protect me, Sendagaya?”

“I don’t mean as a bodyguard...just as a friend. Friends should protect each other, right?” 

Misono turned away to hide the blush that had suddenly crept across his cheeks. Why did simply hearing the word “friend” from Tetsu always make him feel so happy? It didn’t make any sense at all.

“Hmph...well, I-I suppose I will allow you to, if you’re so adamant about it...” 

Tetsu smiled in response, which only made him blush harder. He decided not to spare too much thought as to why that might be. 

Of course, his pride wouldn’t allow him to admit it, but Misono was actually a bit relieved. He was quite confident in his ability to outsmart his tormentors, but he could at least admit that he was no match for any of them physically speaking. Tetsu was more fit to deal with those who preferred using their fists rather than their brains-though that wasn’t to say Misono thought Tetsu was a violent person in the least. He certainly had the capacity to be, but breaking up fights was his forte, not starting them.

“This is annoying,” Misono said after a few moment’s silence, taking the ice off his injured ankle and shaking his hand to regain feeling in it. “Isn’t it enough? I’m going numb.”

“I think you’re still supposed to keep icing it for awhile longer. I’ll help, if you’re sick of holding it.”

Before Misono could ask how exactly Tetsu was planning to “help” him, the latter had already moved from his chair and sat on the edge of the bed. He then proceeded to grab the ice out of his hand-and much to Misono’s horror, very nonchalantly took a hold of his leg and placed it over his lap. 

“W-what do you think you’re doing!?” Misono stuttered in protest, though he didn’t pull away for fear of further injuring himself. “This is completely unnecessary-”

“Elevation.” Obviously not seeing anything wrong with what he was doing, Tetsu held the ice to his ankle (with a little more pressure than was entirely comfortable, but that wasn’t the first or only complaint Misono had about this situation). “It’s good for the blood flow or something.”

“You _have_ been paying attention in biology class, haven’t you?” 

“Nope,” Tetsu replied, and Misono almost laughed at his honesty. “Hugh sprained his ankle a while back so I had to look up what to do for it.”

“I see.”

There was a lull in the conversation, but the silence wasn’t overly awkward. Even so, Misono couldn’t deny that he felt sort of...nervous, for lack of a better descriptor. He wrung his hands together subconsciously, shooting a glance at Tetsu every so often-usually, Tetsu was gazing out the window, but he’d caught his eye more than once, which had caused Misono to immediately blush and look away. It was embarrassing to admit, but it really seemed as if he couldn’t help becoming flustered by Tetsu’s mere presence sometimes. He didn’t know why this was (and he wasn’t entirely sure he actually _wanted_ to know). 

“Y-you should really go back to class if you’re well enough to tend to me,” He protested when he’d had enough of their mutual silence.

Tetsu didn’t move, gazing at him in concern. “Really? But I don’t want to leave you here all alone when you’re hurt...”

“And _I_ don’t want to be responsible for you failing all your classes and repeating the year!” He retracted his leg so that they were no longer touching, then snatched the ice pack from Tetsu’s hands for good measure “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“I believe I’ll somehow manage to survive until the end of the day without your assistance,” Misono said dryly, making a shooing motion with his hand. “Now get going!”

Tetsu left without further protest, and Misono lied back down, staring at the ceiling and wondering whether these untimely spikes in his heart rate were just something he was going to have to live with from now on. 

\--

The rest of the day passed by quietly. Misono didn’t bother returning to class (he didn’t want to give his tormentors the satisfaction of seeing him limp around the hallway, that was for sure). The nurse still hadn’t returned by the time three o’clock rolled around, and Misono slipped out after the final bell to meet Tetsu by the school gates as planned. However, he ended up running into both Tetsu and Mahiru before leaving the building, and the latter rushed towards him on sight. Misono sighed-he had a feeling he knew what was coming, considering Tetsu had very little sense of when to keep quiet about certain things. 

Mahiru stopped a few inches in front of him, frowning severely. “Tetsu told me some guys hurt you earlier today. Is that true?” 

“There’s no need for you to get involved, Shirota,” Misono said through gritted teeth, and then rounded on Tetsu, sticking a finger into his chest intimidatingly. “And _you!_ Don’t go spouting other people’s business so easily, you bastard!” 

“Sorry...he asked where you were so I told him.”

“Don’t apologize-being honest is a good thing. It’s always simpler to just tell the truth if you can help it,” Mahiru said encouragingly to Tetsu before turning back to Misono again. “You could really do with being more honest, Misono.”

“I’m honest when the situation calls for it!”

“Yeah, right. And you didn’t think it was worth mentioning that you’re being bullied?”

“I am not being “bullied.” And I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d just overreact and try and make it your business when I’m perfectly fine-”

“I’m not overreacting! Misono, you were _attacked-_ ”

“I was _tripped_ , not taken into an alley and beaten within an inch of my life!”

The two of them continued to bicker back and forth as they emerged from the building a bit ahead of the crowd. Without coming to any sort of an agreement, Mahiru headed off with a disgruntled “we’ll talk about this more later!” as he departed to join the group of friends he generally walked home with-which included Watanuki Sakuya, who was currently giving Misono an obviously mocking grin. Misono scowled in response, which just seemed to amuse him further.

Annoyed, Misono dramatically turned around and stomped off with the intent of heading to the car, only to come face to face with the person he’d have chosen last to run into during an already stressful day. Clearly, every force in the universe was once again conspiring to ruin whatever normalcy had managed to remain in his life.

His brother, Mikuni, was standing before him with a signature sly grin on his face, garnering stares from just about everyone around them. Of course, Misono could hardly blame them for looking twice. Mikuni stood out no matter where he went due to his unique style-and even more egregiously, the fact that he kept a _live snake_ around his neck at all times. He was a weirdo in all respects, as well as an obvious vagrant, and Misono hadn’t seen him in almost three months (not that he’d been keeping track or anything). But when he did show up for a visit, it was always in the same fashion-completely out of the blue, without any warning whatsoever. 

“M-Mikuni? What the hell are you doing here, you bastard?!” 

Mikuni grinned widely, holding his arms out as if offering a hug (as _if_ Misono would ever take him up on it).

“Well, if it isn’t my dearest little brother! I missed you sooo much-” He began, but cut himself off after catching sight of Tetsu, and his expression immediately morphed to one of almost comically intense fury. “ _You!_ Get away from him, you...you pervert!”

Tetsu blinked at him, a blank expression on his face. “Huh? Have we met?”

“You _manhandled_ my Abel! Unforgivable!” Mikuni shrieked, pointing at Tetsu accusatorily. “Misono, don’t stand next to him!”

“What on earth are you talking about!? Sendagaya would never do something like that!” Misono looked towards Tetsu for confirmation. Tetsu just stared in confusion for a moment, before an expression of realization crossed his face.

“Oh...you’re the guy who was looking for that doll I found at the park.”

“Don’t talk about her as if she’s some kind of _thing!_ ” 

“A doll _is_ a thing, you complete imbecile!“ Misono yelled, amazed at just how quickly Mikuni had managed to infuriate him. Honestly...of _course_ he was talking about a doll. It was becoming increasingly obvious that his brother really had gone off the deep end since he’d ran away so many years ago. “How dare you just show up at my school like this?!”

“I’m only in town for today! Don’t you want to hear all about what I’ve been up to these past few months?”

“I’d rather die than listen to you for another minute.”

“That’s too harsh, Misono!” Mikuni said with obvious amusement, stroking the black snake around his neck idly with his index finger. “But more importantly, I seriously don’t want you alone with that guy! I won’t let him defile you like he did to Abel-”

“No one is being defiled, you lunatic!” Misono yelled, face burning in embarrassment. “Leave us alone!” 

Without another word to his brother, Misono spun around and ran to the car-or hobbled, more accurately, seeing as his ankle was still sore. He heard Tetsu mutter something that sounded like “sorry if I offended your doll” (no doubt in total sincerity, the idiot) before following after him. As soon as the car door shut and they were both inside, Misono knocked on the partition loudly to let the driver know to leave immediately. He refused to so much as glance at Mikuni as they passed him by, but saw him wave cheerily out of his peripheral vision as they rounded the corner. 

“Your brother is kind of weird,” Tetsu said bluntly after a moment. “Does he always act like that?”

“Yes...but he isn’t just strange-he’s an untrustworthy bastard as well. You shouldn’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth.”

“You guys don’t get along?”

“Not in the slightest,” Misono said dryly. He didn’t think it could have possibly been more obvious how much they didn’t “get along.”

“Why-”

“I don’t want to talk about him.” He interrupted with an air of finality. He really didn’t feel like explaining the intricacies of his relationship with Mikuni, not when Tetsu was already far more acquainted with his family situation than he’d have liked as it was.

Silence fell over them again, and Misono had nothing else to do but gaze out the window at the passing cars. However, he was interrupted as his phone buzzed suddenly, and he opened it to be greeted with a text from an unknown number.

_-tell father I said hello~_

Misono gritted his teeth-it was MIkuni, of course. Presumably, he’d changed his number again (his old ones were all blocked on Misono’s phone).

_-He Is In France For The Foreseeable Future. Not That You Would Know._

Seconds after Misono sent the message, his phone buzzed again.

_\- haven’t you heard? his plans changed. flight comes in tomorrow._

_“What?”_ Misono muttered to himself, a jolt of panic instantly overcoming him. Of course, Mikuni must be tricking him. There was no way he would have heard any of this before Lily-and if Lily had heard about it already, he surely would have told Misono.

_-You’re Lying._

_-am not~_

Misono flipped his phone shut, fighting the urge to punch the front of his seat in anger. Tetsu tilted his head in concern, finally seeming to notice that something was bothering him.

“What’s wrong?” 

“That sneaky bastard Mikuni is trying to convince me that father’s flight was rescheduled to tomorrow!” Misono said scathingly, squeezing his phone tightly in anger. “But I refuse to panic until I’ve spoken to Lily. As I’ve said, he absolutely cannot be trusted.”

“What reason would he have to lie about that?”

“How should I know how his mind works?”

Misono sighed, rubbing his temples and willing himself to calm down. It was unsightly for him to get so worked up like this in front of Tetsu. He had to be _mature_. But that was easier said than done in such a precarious situation. If Mikuni had been telling the truth...well, needless to say it’d be an unwelcome change in plans. They’d hardly had enough time to prepare, and if his father learned the truth, both Misono and Lily would certainly feel his untethered wrath upon them. 

In an attempt to distract himself, Misono glanced out the window again, frowning when he caught sight of a familiar looking vehicle a few cars back from them in the next lane. He couldn’t see who was driving it-the windows were tinted and opaque-but the make and model were easily recognizable.

“That car was sitting just outside of our property last night...” Misono muttered, frowning in an attempt to discern any sort of silhouette behind the dark glass. “I’m sure it’s the same one.”

“Really?” Tetsu followed his gaze curiously. “Is it weird for cars to park near your house?”

“Yes, it’s unusual. We don’t have any neighbors.”

“You don’t think it’s some dangerous people waiting for the chance to kidnap you, do you?”

“D-don’t just say something horrifying like that with such nonchalance!” Misono hissed, his worries deepening. 

“If they try and grab you, I’ll just stop them. I’m pretty strong, you know,” Tetsu replied in a completely serious tone. “My mom says not to use violence unless I have to for self-defense, but I think it’s fine if I’m protecting you. She won’t be mad if I explain that, right?”

Despite the situation, Misono found himself suppressing an unexpected smile. Tetsu really was such a strange person...not a bad sort of strange, just unusual. Misono couldn’t really deny that he liked being around him, even if he could be frustratingly dense at times.

“I appreciate the sentiment, Tetsu...but I would hope that won’t be necessary to begin with.”

Tetsu gazed at him in a rare show of pure surprise, and Misono stared back in confusion, not knowing what he’d said that had been so shocking.

“What?”

“You just called me ‘Tetsu.’”

Misono felt his face heat up dramatically, eyebrows knit together in horror as he realized he had, indeed, used Tetsu’s given name for the first time. It had been completely subconscious-but still, it sounded far too familiar, and he immediately tried to backtrack as best he could.

“I-It was merely a slip of the tongue! Don’t get used to it!”

“Oh...” Tetsu murmured, sounding rather disappointed. “I still wish you’d use it more often.”

“Why are you so insistent about that?”

“I dunno. You’re the only person I talk to who calls me by my last name, so I guess it just feels weird.”

“You...you really would prefer it that much if I used your first name?” He asked before he thought better of it, and Tetsu nodded with almost childlike enthusiasm. Clearing his throat, Misono continued his thought against all his better judgement. “I-In that case...I suppose I can...once or twice a year.”

“That’s not much.”

“You should be grateful that I’ll say it at all, you bastard!” 

Tetsu brought his hand up to his mouth, probably to hide an amused smile. “Alright. Thanks, then.”

Misono crossed his arms, still red faced and feeling rather embarrassed. But thankfully, they pulled into the driveway of his mansion only a few moments later. Misono was relieved to note that the car hadn’t followed them the entire rest of the way, though he wasn’t sure exactly when it had disappeared from behind them. Of course, he still felt unsettled by the whole thing, but ultimately decided that it was best to put it in the back of his mind for now. There were more pressing matters he had to deal with at the moment, including but not limited to the (hopefully false) news Mikuni had just shared with him. 

“Don’t worry too much, Sendagaya,” Misono said as they exited the car, though it was really _himself_ he was attempting to reassure. “Mikuni loves to inconvenience and worry others for no reason. He’s surely lying.”

The two of them crossed the driveway and walked up the very few steps to the front door (Misono tried and failed to hide how out of breath he was by the end of it, as always), and Tetsu swung the heavy door open effortlessly. Misono glared at him, inwardly jealous considering that just moving the front door took all of his strength. It really did seem as if Tetsu had won the genetic lottery on many accounts. He was physically superior to Misono in every way, and at times like these it was so discouraging that even the knowledge that he had a vastly superior intellect didn’t make Misono feel much better.

Upon crossing the threshold, he was greeted as usual with Lily’s familiar words-but his tone was unusually downcast.

“Welcome home, Misono.”

Misono frowned suspiciously at him, but failed to catch his gaze-Lily was completely avoiding eye contact. There was something wrong, it was obvious, and as was usually the case with him, he clearly didn’t want to come out and say it. The feeling of dread that had slowly been creeping up on him during the ride home boiled over, and Misono stomped on the floor loudly, startling Lily into looking up at him. 

“Just tell me what happened and get it over with!” He snapped impatiently, his voice only wavering slightly. “Has...has Mikuni been here? Is that it?”

Lily tilted his head in confusion. “Why would you think that?”

“He showed up at my school out of nowhere, acting like a complete maniac as usual...and then he texted me just now saying father’s flight was rescheduled to tomorrow. But clearly that’s just one of his lies.” Misono paused, trying to gauge Lily’s reaction. “It...it _is_ a lie, isn’t it?” 

“Well...somewhat.”

“What do you mean _“somewhat?!”_ Misono yelled, taking a few steps forward until he was standing inches away from Lily. “How can he be _somewhat_ lying?!”

“Your fathers flight was rescheduled. But….I don’t think it’s tomorrow…” 

“You don’t _think?”_

“He hasn’t been in contact with me lately. I heard through a third party that he’d be returning earlier than previously expected. That’s really all I know.”

Lily looked immensely guilty, and despite the wave of panic that had overcome him Misono managed to calm himself a bit, his rational mind knowing that none of this was his butlers fault. It was his _father’s_ fault, all of it. He claimed to care so much for Misono’s safety, but couldn’t find the time to talk to him directly for once? It was infuriating, unfair, and hypocritical-if this was his idea of “protecting” him, then Misono didn’t need it. None of this would have happened if he’d just listened and followed through with his empty promises. But apparently, that was too much to expect from his father. Misono sometimes felt like his status as the heir to the company was more highly valued than the fact that he was his own flesh and blood. 

“We’ll deal with this as best as we can, then,” He muttered finally, hands clenched but managing to keep an even tone. “Sendagaya, tell your parents you’ll stay here tonight. We don’t have any time to waste.”

He hated having to ask this of Tetsu, but what choice did they have? It was selfish, but Misono wasn’t willing to risk being put under house arrest by his father-let alone the possibility of losing Lily, since he wouldn’t put it past his father to fire him if their plan was revealed. Mikado Alicein was not known to be a forgiving man when it came to those who might put his his son's safety in jeopardy. 

“Okay,” Tetsu said after a moment, getting his phone out-presumably to text his parents. “Weeknights usually aren’t that busy, so I guess it’s fine if I’m not at the inn for now.”

Lily sighed, wringing his hands together in obvious distress. “Misono, I’m really not sure about this…”

“What choice do you think we have?” Misono said, his voice sounding quite a bit calmer than he actually felt at the moment. “There’s no use worrying now. We’ll make it work.”

Tetsu looked up from his phone, a hopeful look on his face. “You have a plan, then?”

“A plan? Ah...well, _yes_ , of course I have a plan!” Misono said, crossing his arms in a completely fabricated show of confidence. “A completely brilliant plan, as a matter of fact.”

“You’re quite the show-off in front of your friends, aren’t you Misono?” Lily said, smiling slightly in amusement.

“I-I’m not showing off, you bastard!”

“I think his plans are good enough to brag about,” Tetsu added helpfully, and Misono’s enraged expression turned into a smugly victorious one.

“You see, Lily? Have more confidence in me.” 

Of course, Misono had no plan whatsoever-in fact, every inch of his being beneath the surface was screaming in complete and utter chaos and panic-but he wasn’t about to let either of them know he’d been lying after such a false show of bravado.

He’d make it work...somehow. It wasn’t as if the alternative was an option at this point.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I owe anyone following this an apology for not updating for like 1.5 months..school + work pretty much sucked away all of my free time and motivation. It's pretty hard to want to write in what little free time I've got when there's sooo much required writing for my classes. Ugh.
> 
> Anyways, sorry for the negativity. Thanks for reading as always!


	4. Chapter 4

Upon retreating back into his room with Tetsu (Lily had scurried off to manage the servants, who were likely in a similar state of panic due to all of the work that would have to be done to prepare for their master’s arrival), Misono tried to busy himself with cleaning up the few items he’d left on the floor, avoiding his friend’s gaze at all costs. But as he ought to have seen coming, it didn’t take longer than a few seconds for Tetsu to ask the very question that Misono so desperately wished he didn’t have to answer.

“So...what’s the plan, then?” 

A few moments passed in mutual silence. Of course, Misono was sure that continuing to pretend that he knew what he was doing wouldn’t be anything other than a waste of time, and would probably just make the situation collapse even further. And moreover, he couldn’t deny that there was something about Tetsu that just made him want to be honest, even if it was difficult. He’d never really felt that way around anyone else, considering that he usually hid his true feelings as a defense mechanism. But Tetsu wasn’t the type to blame or mock him, even if he probably deserved it. Hiding the truth from him just felt _wrong._

“I...I was lying,” Misono said in a quiet voice, averting his eyes in shame. “I didn’t want to worry Lily...but the truth is I have absolutely no idea what we’re going to do.”

“Oh,” Tetsu replied simply, and Misono was relieved to find that he didn’t sound disappointed-just surprised. “Should we just practice some more?”

“I don’t think it will make much of a difference at this point, to be honest.” 

“Sorry...I guess it’d be way easier for you if I was a better actor, but I’m not really that convincing.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re doing fine-it’s my own fault that I can’t come up with a better plan.”

“You’re not to blame either, though,” Tetsu said in what was clearly supposed to be a reassuring manner. “I mean, your dad’s the reason we had to do all this in the first place.”

“I suppose that’s true, but it doesn’t change the situation we’re in now,” He muttered, his tone miserable and pathetic. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time with all this nonsense. You can go home now.”

“You want me to leave?”

“I…” Misono faltered, not having expected such a response. “No...I-I mean, I don’t care either way!”

Tetsu smiled slightly in amusement. “So you don’t mind if I stay, then?”

“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?!”

“Good.” Tetsu looked rather pleased, for whatever reason, as if their situation was nothing more than a slight inconvenience that could be easily forgotten. “It’s like a sleepover, huh?”

Ah, yes-the _sleepover._ One of the many friendship rites of passage that Misono had yet to experience. Unfortunately, he didn’t exactly know what it entailed, but he figured he might as well enjoy his last night of freedom, considering that when his father returned he wasn’t likely to let Tetsu in to see him for fear that he’d shoot him or something equally ridiculous (and he was far beyond pretending that he didn’t enjoy Tetsu’s presence on some level). 

“I guess we can’t really stay up late, though,” Tetsu continued, frowning in mild disappointment. “I mean, since you fall asleep at nine and all....”

“Nonsense, I can stay up until at _least_ nine-thirty these days! Don’t you know that I’m practically an adult now?”

“Right..uh, what’s this?” Tetsu said, pointing at the small light that was plugged into the wall beside his bed. 

“That’s nothing!” Misono hurriedly grabbed it out of its socket and shoved it under his pillow (which was probably very suspicious, in hindsight). “One of the twins left it in here!”

“It’s a nightlight, right?” Tetsu asked, obviously not listening to his (admittedly weak) excuses. “Are you afraid of the dark or something?”

“S-so what if I am, then? It’s a basic human survival instinct to fear the dark!”

“Huh.” Tetsu raised his eyebrows, and Misono glowered at him in annoyance.

“Quit looking so amused, you bastard!”

“I’m not. I won’t make fun of you or anything.” He looked away, surveying the rest of the room nonchalantly. “Is that a checker board?”

“Of course not,” Misono replied, grateful for the change in subject. “Checkers is a children’s game. It’s _chess._ ”

"Oh...I play checkers sometimes with Hugh, but I’ve never played chess before."

"The rules are far more complex, so it takes more intelligence to master. I’m rather good, if I do say so myself," Misono said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest with an air of superiority. "Perhaps I could teach you how to play?”

"Right now?"

“Only if you’d like to, of course.”

Tetsu seemed to consider this for a moment, then shrugged compliantly. "Okay."

 

-

 

A mere half hour later, Misono realized he had vastly overestimated his friend’s learning ability. Tetsu had utterly failed to grasp the intricacies of the game-apparently it was "too confusing" that all of the pieces moved in different ways. He kept falling into a habit of moving every piece as if he were playing checkers, the game he was clearly more familiar with. At first, Misono had attempted to correct him, but at this point he had given up and decided to let Tetsu play as he saw fit. 

Of course, it didn't take long for Misono to corner his simple opponent, and once he knew he had Tetsu’s king caught in his trap looked up at him with a victorious expression. "Checkmate."

Tetsu gazed back at him blankly. "What's checkmate?"

"I explained it at the beginning. It means I've won."

"But I haven't moved yet..." Tetsu murmured, frowning and looking at the board for a moment before moving his king so that it hopped directly over the queen in an illegal and completely incomprehensible move-out of the trap Misono had set with his bishop and knight. He looked up with a glimmer of misplaced triumph in his eyes, giving Misono a thumbs up sign. "Your turn."

Misono stared from the chess board to Tetsu in surprise for a moment, then found himself holding back laughter as he realized that Tetsu had yet again tried to apply a checkers move into their chess game. "Sendagaya, you can't do that. The king can't jump over other pieces in chess." 

"Oh..." Tetsu looked very confused, but moved his king back to where it had been, sighing as Misono began to clear the board. 

"Don't get upset about losing." Misono said, glancing up at Tetsu briefly as he continued to put the chess pieces away. He'd felt such an odd wave of fondness for his friend come over him in that instant, and wanted to say something to make him feel better. "It was your first time playing, after all."

"I’m not upset. I didn’t really expect to win," Tetsu paused momentarily before adding, "You're like an expert, huh?"

"I suppose you could say I am," Misono said proudly, flattered by the compliment (even if it didn't mean much coming from a beginner like Tetsu). "I've been playing since I was a child, so it's a second nature by now." 

"I doubt I could ever be very good at a game that takes so much strategy. I’m more of an act now, think later kind of person."

“Oh, I’m quite aware of that." Misono said, smirking in amusement. “Although I’d say it’s more like “act now, think _never"_ in your case.”

Tetsu laughed, surprisingly-he really did have an oddly casual way of reacting to comments that would have made Misono fly off the handle, were they directed at him.

“Yeah, you’re probably right about that.”

They were both quiet for a moment, and Misono tried to think of something else that he could suggest they do. Luckily, Tetsu spoke before the silence became awkward, obviously having been surveying the room in search of something that would capture his attention. 

"Woah...you have a really big TV." 

"Isn't it normal sized?" Misono asked, inwardly wondering why Tetsu always felt the need to comment on the size of absolutely everything, people included. 

Tetsu shook his head. "Mine is probably ten times smaller at least. Do you have any movies?" 

"I don't own any dvds. I believe we have some sort of streaming service, though I don't normally use it." 

"Want to watch something?" Tetsu suggested, and Misono handed him the remote in compliance, grateful that they'd have something to fill the potentially awkward silences. Tetsu took the remote and turned the TV on, immediately accessing the movies on demand section (Misono sighed in relief, because he actually had no idea how to work the thing himself). 

He scrolled until he reached the 'genres' page, and then turned to Misono in question. "What kind of movies do you like?"

"I have no preference." 

"Hmmm...okay." Tetsu nodded in understanding-and then clicked into the horror section. 

"Not horror!" Misono yelped instinctively, his heart rate increasing at the mere thought of being forced to sit through any of the movies in this particular genre. 

Tetsu tilted his head to the side innocently (though Misono strongly suspected it was feigned in this particular case). "Do horror movies scare you?"

"N-no, of course not!" Misono stuttered, trying his best to appear unperturbed. The last time he’d accidentally watched a horror movie had been a terrible experience for everyone involved. "I find them mind-numbingly ridiculous, that’s all!"

"It's okay. We can watch something else," Tetsu said simply, obviously amused but thankfully not pushing the matter. 

They ended up putting on some silly action flick, and Misono spent most of the first half hour pointing out how often the movie broke the laws of physics, which he found immensely annoying. However, he soon quieted down, realizing he was probably being distracting-Tetsu seemed to actually like the movie, which he supposed wasn't all that surprising. Simplistic plots and easy to follow action sequences were about all he could handle, most likely. Misono felt a little guilty for thinking such a thing, but he realized that Tetsu probably wouldn't even be insulted if he were to say all of this out loud. He probably knew that Misono didn’t actually think he was a complete idiot...he just wasn’t what you’d call “book smart.”

The movie wasn't intellectually engaging enough for Misono, however, and he ended up watching Tetsu out of the corner of his eye more than the screen itself. He was more expressive than usual when watching films, it would seem-and it was oddly fascinating to watch. Unfortunately, after quite a few minutes of staring, Tetsu glanced to the side and caught his eye, tilting his head in confusion.

“What?”

“Nothing!” Misono snapped defensively, immediately turning away and blushing. What on earth had he been thinking, staring so shamelessly like that? 

“Hm.” Tetsu seemed to accept the response and turned back to the screen, which was currently flashing with the movies ten-thousandth unnecessarily explosive chase scene.

Misono sighed, deciding to at least attempt to enjoy the movie until it was over. But for whatever reason, he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering back to Tetsu-which was perfectly ridiculous, considering he had far more pressing matters he could have been worrying about. But nonetheless, it seemed he was suddenly incapable of concentrating on anything but the proximity between them, and how dangerously his heartbeat sped up every time they brushed against each other on accident. The results of his research session that morning crossed his mind briefly, but he immediately shut down that train of thought. He utterly refused to do so much _consider_ anything other than illness to be the root of all his bizarre symptoms.

“I liked that movie.”

Misono jumped slightly at Tetsu’s words, and he looked up to find the credits rolling (he couldn’t believe how quickly the film had ended. It had felt like mere minutes to him).

“It was totally uninspired,” Misono replied after a moment, though truthfully he hadn’t paid attention to the bulk of the film. “The plot was utterly nonsensical! I could have come up with something better in my sleep.”

Tetsu shrugged, obviously not too affected by Misono’s words. “I thought the car chase scene was cool.”

“You’re too easy to please, Sendagaya. All it takes to entertain you are some well-rendered explosions.”

“Yeah, the CGI was really convincing.”

Misono sighed in defeat, knowing that they wouldn’t come to an agreement on the artistic merit of the movie. “It’s half past eight. I should get a room ready for you, if you still want to stay the night.”

“I’m fine with just a tatami.”

“Well, we don’t _have_ any tatami mats here, so a proper bed will have to do.” 

“Hmmm...” Tetsu looked around, his eyes falling upon the bed in the corner. “Can’t I stay in here? Your bed is pretty huge, and you’re so small that you probably only take up like a tenth of it.”

“D-don’t be ridiculous!” Misono protested, his face heating up at the mere thought of that suggestion. “I’m not sharing a bed with you!”

“Why not? Isn’t it normal?”

 _Was_ it normal behavior amongst friends at sleepovers? Misono certainly had no way of knowing. But normal or otherwise, there was absolutely no way _he_ was going be doing it.

“I don't care whether it's normal or not! It's a guest room or nothing!”

“Oh...okay, I'm fine with sleeping in a guest room.” 

Misono was sure he must be imagining the disappointment in his tone.

 

\-- 

 

The next morning was a blur. Misono had been abruptly awoken by Lily’s shrill yells that his father would be arriving within the hour-and so, for the remainder of that hour, the entire household was in a ruckus. The servants were rushing to make the place spotless and the cooks were busy preparing a meal befitting his father’s tastes (and Misono was subsequently reminded that he’d never taught Tetsu any decent table manners. He hoped beyond hope that his father wouldn’t insist that he dine with them).

Tetsu himself did not seem to be overly nervous, which Misono supposed was probably a good thing. Much like a horse, his father seemed to be able to smell fear on a person. He supposed that ability was probably good for sniffing out frauds in his business-most likely, he’d be expected to cultivate something similar once it was his time to run the company. 

“Take this up to your friend, I just finished ironing it,” Lily said, practically throwing a suit jacket over Misono. “Make sure he looks professional, alright?”

Tetsu had already gotten dressed, which Misono assumed was also Lily’s doing. He was missing the jacket, of course, but it was a bit of a relief to see him looking the part, at the very least. Their chances were very slim, but perhaps they’d manage to pull this off...if they got _very_ lucky, that is. He just prayed that his father would be in a good mood despite having traveled all night and likely having a bad case of jetlag.

“Put this on,” Misono said, shoving the suit jacket in Tetsu’s direction. “Make yourself look presentable. And for the love of _god_ Sendagaya, take those silly things out of your hair already!”

“Right.”

Tetsu did as he was told, and proceeded to spend the next half hour trailing after Misono like a lost puppy-which he couldn’t really complain about, seeing as that was what he ought to be doing as a “bodyguard” (though Misono couldn’t imagine what kind of danger he could be inside his own home). 

The two of them eventually settled on sitting in the parlor, and Misono kept tapping his foot impatiently in wait of his father’s arrival. Lily was in the next room, but despite the duster in his hand seemed to be spending far more time glancing nervously out of the window than actually _cleaning._ Of course, Misono couldn’t really blame him, considering his own bottom lip was constantly bleeding lately from how often he’d been biting it in worry-and he was sure his resting blood pressure had risen to dangerous levels at this point. Even Tetsu seemed to finally be growing more affected by the uneasy atmosphere, which did nothing to ease Misono’s own fears about the situation.

“He’s here!” Lily exclaimed suddenly, his shriek piercing through the deafening silence as he dropped all of the linens he’d been holding in a frenzy. “Misono, he’s pulling into the driveway right now! Act naturally!”

“ _You’re_ the one who’s acting unnaturally, Lily!”

“Yes...you’re right, I’m sorry! It’s just…”

“I know,” Misono said, momentarily placing a hand on Lily’s arm-a rare gesture, but it seemed like his butler could use it. “But we mustn't let him see that we’re nervous. I’m sure he’s going to be on the lookout for reasons to be suspicious.”

“This is probably quite insubordinate of me, but I agree...he’ll probably be laying in wait for the moment Sendagaya slips up even slightly.” Lily’s eyebrows knit together, and he shot Misono a look of obvious concern. “Are you quite sure he’s up to this?”

“Well, it’s not as if we have a backup plan. He’ll have to be.”

Lily nodded, and they exchanged no further words. It couldn’t have been more than a minute before the door swung open, but to Misono it felt like an hour. The first thing he noticed (aside from the odd winter clothes he was dressed in, had his layover been in _Russia?_ ) was how tired his father looked, which could turn out to be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how frustrating his flight had been. Oftentimes, his father mellowed out quite a bit when he was sleepy, but he could also be grumpier than usual if things weren’t going his way. 

“Welcome back, master,” Lily said, bowing more deeply than usual-quite possibly in an attempt to hide the apprehension in his expression. “I hope your flight was pleasant.”

“Hello, father,” Misono muttered, nodding rather stiffly in his direction.

“Misono, Lily...good to see you both again,” He said, smiling warmly at the two of them. Misono let out an involuntary sigh of relief, grateful that his father seemed to be in a rather pleasant mood despite his obvious weariness. “The flight was fine, as far as flights go. But I’m rather hungry. I can’t stomach airplane food, it all tastes like sand to me.”

“O-of course,” Lily said, turning to lead the way down the hall-and tripping slightly over the rug. “The cooks have been busily preparing for your arrival.”

“I must remember to thank them, then.”

He took off his coat, handing it to Lily, who hung it on the rack carefully before accepting hold of the baggage from the driver. Misono noticed that Tetsu had appeared from the hallway and was standing rather rigidly off the the side, shifting his weight in obvious uncertainty. 

“You...I don’t recognize you.” His father said, frowning at Tetsu quizzically before snapping his fingers in realization.“Ah, you’re the one Lily has charged with protecting my son, aren’t you?” 

“Yes, that’s him,” Lily exclaimed, rushing over and awkwardly placing a hand on Tetsu’s shoulder. “He’s a prodigee-very experienced for his age!”

“You have already thoroughly assured me of his qualifications...and I trust your judgement. But I’ll warn you,” He turned to Tetsu, a serious expression on his face, “-to be on your guard. There’s been an increase in kidnappings by lowlifes trying to make a quick buck. I’ve been extremely concerned about it lately.”

“There’s no reason to believe that I’m in any serious danger…” Misono grumbled, but he couldn’t help remembering the strange car that had been hanging around lately. In any case, he certainly wasn’t going to mention anything about that to his father if he could help it. “Nothing’s going to happen to me, with or without a bodyguard.”

“You can’t be sure of that, Misono. As I always say, it’s far better to venture on the safe side of things.” 

“And you’re absolutely right about that,” Lily said, laughing nervously and clapping Tetsu on the shoulder once again. “But he’s up to the job, I guarantee it!”

“I certainly hope so.” His father looked Tetsu up and down with a critical gaze that he generally reserved for intimidating potential business rivals, before taking a step forward and extending his hand. “I suppose I’ll be your employer for the foreseeable future, then. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Tetsu said rather stiffly, shaking his hand. Misono sighed in relief, grateful that he hadn’t done something stupid like try to high-five him.

“Well,” He clapped loudly a single time, making both Misono and Lily jump a little bit. “If the food is ready, I would like to have an early lunch. You’ll be joining us, I expect?”

Tetsu nodded, and Misono immediately injected himself into the conversation with the only excuse he could think of to undo what was sure to be a complete disaster of a situation. 

“He’s a vegetarian...and lactose intolerant...and he also has celiac disease, so he can’t process gluten. Really, I think it would be better if he ate on his own-”

“Nonsense. He can have some wine with us, at least.”

Assuming that Tetsu could handle a little bit of alcohol, Misono supposed he would probably be fine, though he sincerely hoped that he would have the good sense not to speak out of turn or say anything unnecessary. 

His father led the way to the dining room, followed closely by Lily. Misono trailed a bit behind the two of them-it always took him longer than the others to walk anywhere, due to his short strides and weak constitution. Tetsu seemed to be lagging a bit in order to walk next to him. He was wringing his hands together in a rare nervous gesture, looking very uncomfortable and out of place, and Misono couldn’t help but feel rather guilty about throwing him into this messed up situation in the first place.

“Sorry...I don’t suppose you’re used to drinking, are you?” Misono said under his breath to Tetsu as they headed into the dining room. “He probably assumed you were at least twenty or so.” 

“Yeah. But bitter tasting stuff doesn’t really bother me, so I’ll be fine.”

They took their usual seats, with his father at the head of the table, Misono to his right, and Lily to his left. Tetsu elected to sit on the other side of Misono, and once the rest of them were served proceeded to spend the next few minutes staring wistfully at Misono’s food and sighing heavily in a very obvious way. Misono felt bad about making him go hungry, but there was really no way around it. He couldn’t risk their plan falling through over something as silly as poor table manners. 

Most of the conversation throughout the meal was between his father and Lily, business talk that Misono didn’t really care to involve himself in. It was boring and undecipherable to him, even with the knowledge from all of the classes he’d been forced to take regarding business. He tended to prefer literature, history, and science to business and economics, but unfortunately he highly doubted his vast knowledge of greek classics and ability to translate Latin at an unparalleled level for his age was going to come in much handy when it came to running his father’s company.It wasn’t exactly that he _hated_ the idea of being the heir to the business, but he felt rather...indifferent about it. He’d known what his career would be beyond a doubt since childhood, so he’d never really gotten the chance to consider what he _wanted_ to do beyond the responsibilities he had to his family. To be something like a historian, or a scientist-a job that would require him to use his intellect in the way he felt he was most suited for-that had never been something that was within his reach. 

“I’m thinking of having you accompany me on a business trips one of these days, you know,” His father said suddenly, turning his attention towards him for the first time since they’d sat down. “I feel that it would be beneficial for you to observe the way these things are done firsthand.”

“I’ll catch some foreign disease and die the second I get off the plane,” Misono muttered flatly in response, giving his father an unenthusiastic glance. “I would much rather observe your local business ventures.”

“I suppose you’ve got a point there...” He was silent for a moment, and seemed to be choosing his next words carefully. “In any case, there’s a more pressing matter that I wish to discuss with you regarding your future.” 

“Is it about the company again?”

“Not exactly.” He chewed slowly, waiting until he’d swallowed his food and taken a sip of water to continue. “It’s regarding your personal relations.”

“What exactly are these “personal relations” of mine you’re referring to?” Misono asked in mild annoyance. It wasn’t like his father to be so vague about things-he tended to be very upfront, even to a fault.

“Yes, I suppose I ought to be more specific. By personal relations, I meant your eventual marriage.” 

Misono prided himself on having good table manners, but that didn’t stop him from choking on his food for a good minute after the word “marriage” had left his father’s mouth. He tried to convince himself he’d misheard, but judging by the shocked expression Lily was currently wearing, that was not a likely explanation. What in the name of god was his father _thinking_ , bringing something like this up now?

“ _M-marraige_?! You...you’ve never mentioned anything like that before!”

"Many boys of your status have been engaged since they were children," He continued, cutting his meat and looking completely nonchalant about his plans to casually run Misono’s life into the ground. "I'm only asking you to get acquainted with some suitable matches, that's all. I’ve made plans for you to meet with the daughter of the CEO from Shibuya corps. It would be highly beneficial for our future business ventures with Shibuya if you were to match well with her."

It was probably a miracle that Misono hadn’t fainted on the spot at this point. Who cared whether it was “beneficial to the business” or not? He was only sixteen years old-a _high schooler_ -not to mention that he had absolutely no interest in romance whatsoever. In fact, the mere idea of it terrified him. His father had never so much as mentioned in passing that he expected him to get engaged so soon. Of course, at the back of his mind, Misono knew that one day he’d be expected to marry and have children. The company needed heirs, after all. But he’d consoled himself with the idea that this was all too far in the future for him to bother worrying about. 

"I-I'm not so good with this sort of thing, you know!" He said shrilly after a moment of shocked silence. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea to-”

His father shut him up with a dismissive wave. "Nonsense. I'm sure any halfway decent girl would like you."

It was almost hilarious how incorrect he was. Girls liked him about as much as boys did-that is to say, not at all. They were generally less violent towards him, sure, but they did tend to be a little more creative with their insults, which was almost as annoying as the physical assaults were. He was by no means _scared_ of women-Misono wouldn’t admit to being afraid of anyone on principle-but he tended to try and avoid situations in which he was likely to be mocked. It was only a matter of pride. 

“In any case,” Misono continued, looking at his father with an unspoken plea in his eyes, “there’s no way I could fit it into my schedule. I’m far too busy with schoolwork to deal with something like this right now.” 

“You told me just a few weeks ago that your schoolwork was far too easy for you.” His father sighed, putting his knife and fork down and giving him an exasperated look. "Misono, come now...aren't you always asking me to treat you like an adult?"

"I didn't mean I wanted to get _engaged!_ "

“Well, I’m afraid you don’t get to pick and choose which adult responsibilities are most attractive to you,” He said tersely, obviously growing rather impatient. “I refuse to cancel this date, it would be rude. You will meet with her this sunday, and that is final.”

For the third time since they’d sat down, Misono felt gravity slip away from him and momentarily thought he must have fallen out of his chair. 

“ _Sunday?_ That’s _tomorrow!_ ”

“Then you’d best prepare yourself.”

“I can’t-”

“End of discussion!” He snapped, and Misono let his protests die, knowing that continuing to argue with him would be useless. 

Lily gave him a pitying sort of look from across the table, and Misono focused his gaze down at his empty plate instead, fists clenched tightly at his sides. It was _so_ like his father to pull something like this without giving him any fair warning. Misono felt like yelling at him, asking whether it was so important that he control every last aspect of his life, effectively stripping him of what little freedom he had left. But he knew from experience that doing something like that would only make things worse. It really seemed as if every time he tried to get his father to loosen his grip on him in the slightest bit, he only held on stronger.

“I’ll be retiring to my study in a moment,” His father said after quite a long period of awkward silence, turning to address Tetsu directly. “You’re free to leave, unless Misono is planning on going out.”

“I’m not,” Misono muttered, pushing his chair back and standing up. “Come on, I’ll show you to the door.”

Tetsu followed him, bowing slightly on his way out and thanking his father for the meal. Misono tried to stay a few steps ahead, not really in the mood to talk-but Tetsu seemed to have other ideas, and easily caught up with him so that they were walking in stride with one another. 

“Are you okay?” He asked once they were out of earshot from the table. “We did pretty good, right? I think he’s convinced.”

“It’s not you that I’m worried about right now. I...this thing tomorrow…”

“What are you nervous about? You don’t seem to have a problem talking to girls at school.”

“That’s different! This is supposed to be a...a..” He couldn’t even say the word aloud. A _date._ How absolutely horrifying. “Just be quiet! Clearly you understand nothing about this!”

He knew he was being rather harsh. But the responsibility on him as the heir was so stifling, and it took enough of his self-control just to keep himself from collapsing underneath the sheer weight of all of it. Tetsu couldn’t know how he felt, he’d never been in this sort of situation. Being the heir to a hot springs inn was very different than being the heir to a multi-million dollar corporation. Not to mention, Tetsu was extremely popular amongst the female students, although he probably wasn’t aware of it himself (they all thought he was handsome in a very mature way, which Misono supposed he agreed with on some level). No doubt, this date would end up in one of two ways-either she’d spend the majority of it ridiculing him, or she’d be focused on Tetsu and completely ignore his presence. 

It wasn’t as if he was jealous or anything, of course. If Misono could have chosen, he’d wish for utter indifference-for the girls and boys alike to regard him simply as a classmate, rather than a target. Unfortunately, that was generally not the sort of attitude he received, what with his height and somewhat abrasive personality thrown into the mix.

“Sorry...” Tetsu said after a moment, looking rather regretful. “Uh...well, I think you’ll do fine. She’ll probably like you.”

“What on earth would give you that idea?”

Tetsu shrugged, glancing at Misono from the corner of his eye briefly. “What’s not to like?”

Misono thought that Tetsu was probably the only person in the universe who would ever think of saying something like that to him. He blushed deeply, feeling very happy despite the situation they were currently in-and a bit guilty about his rude behavior from a moment ago. 

“U-um...well...thank you, Sendagaya.” He murmured, unable to suppress a very small smile that he hoped Tetsu didn’t notice. “But I’m afraid not many people would agree with you about that.”

“If they don’t, then they don’t matter. It’s no good to spend time around people who don’t care about you.”

“It’s not as if I have a _choice_ about it in this particular instance.”

“I guess not...but it’s only for an afternoon, right?” Tetsu said, stopping as they reached the threshold and turning to face him. “You’ll get through it. I’ll be there with you.”

Misono honestly didn’t see how that was supposed to make him feel better in the slightest. In fact, Tetsu’s presence would probably just make things more embarrassing for him. But he was obviously trying to be comforting, so Misono decided not to point this out. 

“Yes, I suppose you will,” He said, sighing inwardly at the prospect. “I’ll wait for you tomorrow morning.”

“Yep. See you then.”

The door swung shut behind him, and Misono fought the extremely strong urge to once again sink to the floor in a depressed lump. But he wasn’t about to show such a pathetic side of him to anyone, least of all his father. Oddly enough, the person he blamed the most for his situation, aside from his father, was _Mikuni._ The entire reason Misono was the heir to the company-and likely the reason his father was so controlling over him-was because Mikuni had decided to selfishly abandon him in order to chase his own frivolous dreams, whatever those dreams even _were_. He hadn’t even bothered to give him a proper explanation, but Misono had decided long ago that whatever his reasons, he couldn’t ever forgive him for it.

He headed back to his room to sulk in peace-but upon collapsing on his bed, made the very poor decision to open his phone, only to be greeted by a highly unwelcome text from Mahiru.

__

_-u ok? tetsu told me your dad’s trying to set you up with some rich girl._

 

Misono gritted his teeth in annoyance. He realized now that he ought to have been more clear with Tetsu about his need to keep this a secret, since common sense and basic courtesy were apparently too much to expect from him.

 

_-I Am Fine. Forget Whatever That Massive Idiot Sendagaya Told You, The Traitor._

_-pretty harsh huh...but u like him more than u let on, dont u_

 

Misono almost broke the keys on his phone with the pressure he used to angrily type out a string of replies.

 

_-Wrong!!_

_-(1/2) You Are Extremely Mistaken Shirota, So Wrong. I’ll Have You Know That I Am_

_-(2/2) Currently Laughing At Your Foolishness._

 

Only a few seconds after he sent his last message, his phone buzzed again. this time to alert him that he had an incoming call. He groaned and pressed “answer” against his better judgement-he was not in a particularly conversational sort of mood, considering the morning he’d just had.

“What do you want, Shirota?” He said snappishly, tapping the back of his phone as he held it against his face.

“You’re really something, you know that?” Mahiru replied without so much as a greeting, and Misono could hear the hateful amusement in his tone.

“Do you have anything important to say or not?” 

His finger hovered over the hang-up button, which he often used with little to no regard about the rudeness it may convey.

“I just wanted to check up on you. This whole situation has really got me on edge.”

“That is precisely what I was trying to _avoid_ , you know.”

“Well, I’ve heard enough already, so there’s no point in lying about anything now,” Mahiru said with an air of warning in his tone. “Honestly, I’m pretty worried about this plan of yours falling through. The idea of you being locked away by your dad...ugh, I dunno. It pisses me off. Worst comes to worst, I’m gonna come down there and give him a piece of my mind-I swear, I really will. I’ll even break you out myself if I have to-”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Misono barked, frowning at the phone as if Mahiru could see his expression. “You’ll do no such thing. He’ll have you arrested for kidnapping!”

“It’s technically not kidnapping if you come willingly...”

“With the right lawyers, it most certainly can be.”

Mahiru sighed deeply, and Misono imagined that he was probably running his hands through his hair in the way he often did when he was exasperated (which was a very common emotion of his, due to the incomprehensible insistence he had about constantly and _willingly _dealing with the most frustrating individuals to have ever lived).__

“Well, I don’t know what kind of morally bankrupt lawyers your dad employs, but I’m not gonna be intimidated by that kind of injustice! ”

“It’s a matter of money versus integrity, and it’s always the money that prevails in these sort of situations. Also, I do hope you realize that you’re being far too emotional for your own good lately, Shirota!”

“Oh, _I’m_ emotional? Who was it again who burst into tears at my house last year because Kuro told him Santa wasn’t real?”

“I-I’ve said this a million times, but it was allergy season and my eyes were watering!” Misono shrieked, shuddering at the mere thought of that particular memory. “I’m hanging up, this conversation is useless!"

“Fine, I’ll let you go now. But seriously, Misono-take care of yourself. Promise?”

“Hmph! As if I need _you_ telling me such a thing!”

__He hung up without another word, still rather miffed that Mahiru had brought up the santa thing-it had not been his proudest moment, to say the least (but it was hardly _his_ fault that his father had ordered Lily and the servant’s to shelter him like a grade schooler). His mind soon settled back on the far more pressing matters at hand-keeping himself from being placed under house arrest by his father, for one...and also wondering what Tetsu might be doing at the current moment. Tending to the inn, most likely. That _was_ how he seemed to spend the vast majority of his free time. _ _

Misono sat up immediately upon realizing the direction his thoughts had taken, putting his head in his hands in exasperation. _‘How useless! Who CARES what he’s doing now?! It’s not important!’_

__But of course, despite his conscious minds objection, all that his brain seemed to feel like conjuring up at the moment were questionably innocent images of Tetsu-that subtle sort of smile he had when he was amused or happy, the way his expression would become so pensive sometimes (only for him to come to a conclusion a five year old might make)-or how ridiculously attractive he looked when engaged in any sort of physical activity (and that was probably the only part of gym class that actually wasn’t all that bad)._ _

__Misono stood up so abruptly he almost fell over. He began pacing around his room, muttering random, disjointed words of reprimand, all of which were directed at himself for failing to stop that train of thought at the station. This whole situation was getting completely out of hand, and it was causing him almost as much stress as the conflict with his father. What was _wrong_ with him lately? His previous conclusion about his odd behavior around Tetsu couldn’t explain away his own _thoughts_ , could it? No sickness would have this effect on him, he was sure of it._ _

__“...Misono?”_ _

__Lily’s voice startled Misono so much that he jumped about a foot in the air, spinning around to see that his butler had entered the room without him noticing, and was currently watching him in obvious concern and confusion._ _

__“D-don’t just enter my room without permission!” He exclaimed angrily, rather embarrassed to have been seen pacing and muttering to himself like a madman. “Is it so difficult to knock first instead of just barging in?!”_ _

__“I apologize for intruding, but I wanted to check on you...you seemed rather upset when you left the table earlier. Are you doing okay?”_ _

__“You and Shirota...the both of you are always trying to nose your way into my business!” Misono barked, still feeling frustrated and not at all in the mood to be questioned. “If you must know, I am most certainly _not_ doing okay, and you can thank my father for that!” He paused, breathing heavily and going over to his bed to sit down before continuing. “I don’t _want_ to get engaged, Lily.”_ _

__“Ah...I thought that might be what was bothering you.” Lily sat down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder (Misono shrugged it off stubbornly as usual, crossing his arms). “But you know, I got the impression that he’d ultimately be letting you decide whether or not you want to marry this girl you’re meeting tomorrow.”_ _

__“I don’t want to meet her in the first place!”_ _

__“And I understand that...but-”_ _

__“Even if he’s technically letting me choose, it’s out of the handful that he’s pre-arranged for me to meet! It’s only to give me the illusion that I have any power over my future, when really he’s just in the background pulling all of the strings.” Misono paused, biting his lip and trying not to do something shameful like start crying in front of Lily. “He’s...he’s treating me like his puppet, not his son! Don’t you think it’s wrong of him to control me like this?”_ _

__“Yes, I do,” Lily said softly, his hand finding its way back to his shoulder-Misono didn’t bother removing it this time, feeling somewhat grateful for the support he was receiving. “But Misono, once you’re an adult, he won’t be able to force you to do _anything._ Just look at your brother, he’s certainly not living up to your father’s expectations.”_ _

__“My so-called “brother” is not the person I aim to be by a long shot.”_ _

__“What I meant is that there’s no way of him to impose a marriage upon you unless you agree with it. He can’t use your status as the heir to the company to manipulate you, since you’re the only child he has who is willing to run his business.”_ _

__“I suppose you’re right about that…” Misono mumbled, not feeling much better about his overall situation. “But no matter what, I’ll have to go to this ridiculous meeting tomorrow.”_ _

__“You’ll be alright. The worst that can happen is she doesn’t take a liking to you, and-forgive me for saying so-but you’re quite used to that sort of thing from your peers, aren’t you?”_ _

__Misono glared at him, but couldn’t exactly deny the truth of that statement. “That’s not the point! What’s bothering me is that this...this is a...a d-date, you know! And unlike school, my confidence in that sort of situation is nonexistent!”_ _

“Hmmm…” Lily frowned for a moment in thought, before a metaphorical light bulb seemed to appear above his head. “We could practice! You may not believe me, but I’m _very_ experienced in all matters related to romance-”

“I am not practicing _anything_ with you! Get out of my room!”

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fact that Misono actually practiced with Lily for his date (sorry I mean "outing”) with Tetsu in that one drama cd brings me endless joy. As does the fact that he still believes in santa. I love him so much.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning managed to be even more unpleasant than the last had been for Misono-which was quite an accomplishment, in the worst possible sense of the word.

He had taken about an hour to get ready for his supposed “date” with a total stranger, the majority of which had been spent pacing around his room (he seemed to be doing quite a lot of that lately) and trying to list all of the good qualities he possessed aloud to himself as a last minute confidence boost. Of course, this worked about as well as he ought to have expected, and even after all of his useless introspection he could have counted the positive traits he’d come up with on one hand. 

Misono was a prideful person, or at least that was certainly how he postured himself in front of others. But when it came down to it, he had as many insecurities as he had bragging points, most of which he simply ignored until some insensitive person decided to point them out. His height and weak constitution, for example, were nothing that he was particularly proud of. There was also the way he tended to handle his emotions rather poorly, lashing out whenever he was embarrassed or flustered in the slightest. He hated being so easy to provoke, but it was almost unavoidable when his first priority had always been maintaining what genuine pride he _did_ have in himself. Misono recognized the constant need he felt to overcompensate for his perceived downfalls, and he loathed it.

But even so, there were some decent qualities that he knew that he possessed beyond the slightest doubt. Intelligence, for one-Lily had often told him that he’d probably made an excellent military general in a past life based on his ability to strategize. Misono had always liked to be praised on his intellect, since he knew such comments were genuine and not just a scrap of pity someone had thrown his way out of the “goodness of their heart,” or whatever silly self-righteous charity those types thought they were paying him. 

Returning to his flaws, however-Misono rarely found himself feeling as utterly minuscule as he did at the current moment, standing next to Tetsu on the porch of some fancy mansion only a few blocks south of his own. Their height difference of just over a foot had never been more obvious, as far as he was concerned.

“You’re standing too close to me!” He said grumpily, glaring up at Tetsu. “Have you never heard of a thing called personal space?”

“Isn’t this a pretty normal distance, though?”

Misono was not about to admit that he was afraid of appearing even shorter than he was in the first place due to their proximity, and so he offered Tetsu no answer beyond a vaguely dissatisfied “hmph” noise, crossing his arms and subtly putting more space between them.

“How long exactly are they expecting us to hang around their porch like stray cats?” He snapped after another moment, tapping his foot impatiently and ringing the bell a few more times. He was not in the best of moods, to say the least, and the anxiety surrounding this meeting was making him more irritable than usual. “These people have no manners!”

“We’ve only been waiting a minute or two,” Tetsu replied calmly, pointing at his watch (Misono supposed this was just for show, since he knew for a fact that Tetsu did not know how to read roman numerals). ”You seem kind of on edge. Are you nervous?” 

“That isn’t it! Punctuality is very important to me!” Misono turned his sharp gaze from the door to Tetsu, intent on continuing to deny this “nervous” air he was apparently giving off, but the expression he was met with was one of genuine concern, and he couldn’t bring himself to follow through. “I...I am a bit anxious, I suppose, but it’s not as if-”

Misono cut himself off as the large, mahogany door finally opened, to reveal an elderly man dressed in an elegant suit whom he could only assume was the family's butler. He looked rather flushed, as if he’d been running for a solid minute (and perhaps he _had_ been, if he’d been at the other end of the mansion when they’d rung the doorbell. Misono knew from experience how tiring it could be living in a needlessly huge home when your physical health wasn’t quite up to par). 

“I sincerely apologize for the wait,” The man said after a moment, his voice very deep, contrary to his frail appearance. “I had been informed that you would not be arriving until this afternoon...”

“It is the afternoon,” Misono replied flatly, grabbing Tetsu’s wrist and shoving the watch into the man’s line of sight. “Five minutes after noon, to be exact.”

“Oh...is that so?”

The poor man looked so utterly baffled by this information that Misono could only take pity on him, and he decided not to push the subject any further. 

“Please come in. The young mistress is awaiting your arrival in the parlor...most likely...”

Misono exchanged a skeptical gaze with Tetsu before stepping over the threshold, immediately surveying the interior of the mansion-with more suspicion than curiosity, as he was half convinced that this was all some sort of elaborate prank and he was actually on the set of one of those silly variety shows that his servants liked to watch. Just what sort of respectable rich family would leave such a scatterbrained man in charge of their home? Lily wasn’t always the most serious or diligent worker, but he was _competent_ at the very least. In any case, none of the floors seemed to be disappearing beneath them quite yet (Misono almost wished they would, considering how utterly depressing he found the bland gray carpeting that ran across the middle of the hallway). 

“Don’t say anything unless you’re addressed directly from now on,” Misono muttered under his breath to Tetsu as they followed the butler, passing by numerous portraits labeled with names and dates in silver plaques. “In this sort of a situation, a real bodyguard would be absolutely silent so that his presence could be ignored.”

“Okay, got it.”

Misono wasn’t entirely sure that he could count on that, but there wasn’t much more he could say to ensure that Tetsu didn’t forget his place. The more concerning thing at the moment was the scrutiny that he was sure he’d face from Hitomi the moment he entered her line of sight. He consoled himself for a moment with the thought that she might be short herself-after all, the average height for a Japanese female was 158 centimeters-only two centimeters taller than he was. As long as she was slightly below average, he thought he could avoid being judged for his short stature at the very least.

But as soon as they entered the parlor and the room’s sole occupant got to her feet, Misono’s hopes were immediately nailed into their coffin and buried six feet under. Hitomi was at least 175 centimeters or so by his best estimate. And on top of that, she was very attractive from an objective standpoint, with her black hair braided into an ornamental plait and a perfectly proportioned face that was so symmetrical it was almost unsettling-but the expression she wore was one of incredible boredom as she sized him up, clearly unimpressed. 

“You’re a bit smaller than I expected.”

Misono felt his face heat up in embarrassment, but managed to fight his initial instinct, which was to call her a tactless idiot who was far too tall for his liking anyways.

“Greetings,” He muttered stiffly instead, as he didn’t think he could make any variation of “pleased to meet you” sound even remotely genuine at the moment. “I’m-”

“Misono Alicein, age 16, second year at some subpar public school, heir to a large business and an even larger fortune,” She said very quickly, sitting down again and drumming her fingers on the side of the table impatiently. “I’m just quoting my mother. She always tells me the basics before I meet with someone.”

Misono wordlessly took the seat across from her, not knowing how to respond to her odd introduction-and trying desperately not to wonder just how many people she had turned down before him. It wasn’t as if he had any desire to be accepted by her as a future husband, but there was something intimidating about the knowledge that she was selective to this degree. 

“ _You_ can leave now.“

Her words were spoken as a harsh, biting demand that made Misono jump slightly in his seat, momentarily under the impression that she was addressing him. However, he quickly followed her gaze to the aging butler, who was currently hovering around the entrance looking completely lost. He flinched even more dramatically than Misono had at her sharp tone, holding his hands in front of his chest in what looked like a defensive gesture before bowing and exiting the room in a hurry. It couldn’t have been more clear that he was rather terrified of her. Misono raised an eyebrow and turned his focus back to Hitomi, who had simply rolled her eyes in response to her butler’s odd behavior and taken another sip of tea.

“Sorry. He’s always like that.” She paused, holding her cup slightly higher and jerking her head towards it. “Do you want some tea? That idiot forgot to make enough for two, but I can call him back and tell him to put on another kettle, if you’d like.”

“There’s no need,” Misono said, if only to spare the butler what he could already tell would be an unpleasant experience for him. “May I ask...are your parents going to be-”

“They’re not here. You won’t meet them unless I approve of you, in which case you’ll come back and attempt to gain their approval as well. Haven’t you done this before?”

Misono shook his head, trying not to make it too obvious how disappointed he was that her parents would not be joining them. It would have made things less awkward if it weren’t just the two of them alone (well, three counting Tetsu-but he was, as Misono had instructed, currently standing silently beside him and pretending that he didn’t exist).

“I’m your very first? Well, lucky you.” Hitomi laughed, but somehow managed to make what ought to have been a cheerful sound come off as rather aggressive. “So, enough introductions-let’s get to the interesting stuff. What do you like to do for fun?”

“I read quite a bit, I suppose. And I play chess with the servants on occasion...”

“Right.” She didn’t seem very impressed by his hobbies, and they were silent for a moment before she continued in a somewhat irritated tone. “Aren’t you gonna ask what I do for fun, then?”

“O-oh, um...yes.” Misono frowned at his own wimpy manner of speaking. What was this meekness that had overtaken him? It was so unbelievably sickening that he felt it was a wonder everyone in the room hadn’t caught the flu just from bearing witness to it.

“I like to go on mountain climbing trips whenever I can. I climbed Fuji by myself just last month,” Hitomi said, her tone clearly indicating how proud she was of this achievement. “But I can’t go mountain climbing during the week, so I do fencing and gymnastics at school. Do you play any sports?”

“I prefer academics to athletics, actually.”

“Sounds really fun,” She replied dryly, examining her nails in disinterest. “Anyways, I’ve got a whole lot of medals for fencing. I think they look better on my shelf than a report card.”

He tried to ignore what had most likely been a subtle jab at him. It was obvious that she thought quite highly of herself, and Misono supposed she had reason to-she was beautiful, from a good family, and most likely talented in multiple areas. But that didn’t stop him from finding her attitude completely insufferable. Misono had been told by many people that he had an arrogant personality, but he was sure that he couldn’t possibly be _this_ bad. After all, a decent portion of his own pride was completely fabricated.

“Are you always this talkative?” Hitomi said sarcastically, seeming to be quite dissatisfied with his company already. “Come on, open up a little. You’re boring me.”

“I’m not here to entertain you!” Misono snapped, crossing his arms and reverting to the prideful, aloof front he generally took on in front of strangers. “Hire a clown if it’s amusement you’re looking for!”

“Well, well. Aren’t you feisty all of a sudden?” She smiled wryly, and Misono glared more intensely in her direction. “So...unrelated question, but how tall are you exactly?”

“...160 centimeters, if you must know-” 

“Oh, sure, if you’re rounding up to the nearest ten.” She barked a laugh, and Misono frowned in defiance (despite the fact that she was absolutely correct in calling out his exaggeration). “I mean, I don’t have a problem with short guys, but if we were to marry I’m pretty sure half of our children would be legal midgets.”

Well, he wasn’t about to take _that_ sitting down.

“You bastard! You’re intentionally trying to provoke me!”

“Did you just call me a _bastard?”_ Hitomi exclaimed, but she looked overjoyed rather than angry, to Misono’s immense confusion. “Y’know, I’ve met a whole lot of guys-and pissed off most of them...but this is a first.”

“Don’t be insulted. He calls people bastards pretty often,” Tetsu added unhelpfully, despite Misono’s previous warnings for him to keep his mouth shut as any reasonable bodyguard would. 

“Oh, I’m not insulted. This is getting pretty interesting, actually.”

Misono grimaced and sat back down in his seat, a little bit unnerved by the weird gleam in her eye. “I don’t see what’s even remotely interesting about any of this!”

“Well, compared to the nonsense I normally have to deal with, it’s kind of refreshing. There’s nothing I hate more than a guy who’ll mindlessly throw compliments at me and act like perfect husband material just to land a marriage that we both know is all about business. Frankly, it makes me sick.” 

Misono hadn’t been expecting an answer like that, and he had absolutely no idea how he was meant to respond. Fortunately, she saved him the need to come up with anything by continuing her thought in an increasingly heated tone.

“Like, don’t you get fed up with it all sometimes? The stupid facades people put on, everyone’s just so _fake.”_ Hitomi slammed her empty teacup down on the table, very intentionally missing the coaster by a few inches. “If I’m ever gonna get married, it won’t be some stupid prearranged spectacle that’s just for show. I swear, the second I see an opportunity to leave, I’m so out of this place...”

An image of Mikuni flashed into Misono’s mind momentarily, and he shook his head in an effort to get rid of it. The last thing he needed right now was to be comparing his “date” (he used that term very loosely, for lack of a better one to describe whatever this was supposed to be) with his estranged brother.

“Why are you meeting with me in the first place, then?”

“Take a wild guess.”

“Parental influence, I suppose.” 

She snorted derisively. “More like parental obligation.They’re not suggesting it, they’re enforcing it. Emotionally constipated morons, both of them. And judgemental as hell, too-incidentally, they both think your dad is a total control freak. Any truth in that?”

“My father is merely running the company the way he sees most fit,” Misono said, though he didn’t know why he wasn’t agreeing with her statement, considering how much anger he’d been harboring lately. “And in business, it’s foolish to trust others with tasks that you’re fully capable of doing yourself. Call it controlling if you will, but it’s the smarter option.”

“You sure are passionate in defending your old man. And here I was starting to think we might be able to relate to each other, too....” 

“I don’t know what gave you that impression in the first place.”

“Yeah. Guess I had the wrong idea.” 

She gave him an excessively cold look, and Misono stood up abruptly, sick of being a receptacle for the obviously deep-seated rage she had towards her parents and the world she lived in. This wasn’t going to work-neither of them even _wanted_ it to work. Spending any more time with her just seemed like needless torture, and Misono could think of about a million things he’d rather do with his afternoon. 

“I have no desire to waste any more time here when my presence is clearly unwanted.”

“Oh, whatever. Run along and cry to daddy,” She drawled, the corners of her mouth turning up in a self-satisfied smirk as she made a shooing motion at him with one of her hands. “Make sure and tell him everything, promise?”

There wasn’t a doubt in Misono’s mind that Hitomi really wanted him to tell his father the disparaging comments her parents had apparently made about him. She was actively trying to sabotage them as some kind of teenage rebellion, and she didn’t seem to care whether she was destroying her own future in the process. Misono couldn’t help but think of Mikuni again-he’d been too young to understand the reasons his brother had left at the time, but he could only imagine that he must have held a similar contempt for their father as Hitomi held for her parents. The both of them wanted nothing to do with the company that was being forced on them, nor did they seem to have the sense of responsibility that kept Misono by his father’s side. When he thought about it that way, he supposed her behavior towards him made a bit more sense.

Misono finally turned away, gesturing for Tetsu to follow him as he made his way towards to parlor entrance. “Let’s go, Sendagaya.”

 

\--

 

“That was,” Misono began as soon as they were safely back inside the car, slamming the door behind him and startling his driver out of what appeared to have been a nap behind the wheel, “-a complete and utter _disaster._ I don’t care what my father says, I’m never going to one of these ridiculous “meetings” ever again!”

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. You should only go out with a person you really like, otherwise there’s no point.” Tetsu paused for a moment to meet Misono’s gaze. “ _Do_ you like anyone?”

Misono jumped a bit at the unexpected (and entirely unwelcome) personal question, feeling his face heat up a bit despite having no real reason to be embarrassed by such a line of inquiry, at least as far as his conscious mind was concerned. 

“Don’t ask things like that! And the answer is _no_ , of course!”

“Sorry, I was just curious,” He said, his tone remaining even and casual as he continued, “I think I might like someone, actually.”

“...R-really?” This was certainly news to Misono, and despite all the protests of his conscious mind he couldn’t help but become immediately and overwhelmingly curious about this supposed crush of Tetsu’s. Against his better judgement, he continued in a demanding tone, “You ought to tell me who it is now, since you brought it up! N-not that I particularly care or anything...”

Tetsu looked away, the tips of his ears going pink as they usually did on the rare occasions that he was shy or embarrassed. 

“It’s, uh...it’s sort of a secret...”

“Then you shouldn’t have mentioned it in the first place!” Misono barked, crossing his arms over his chest as he glanced over at Tetsu in irritation. “But regardless of who it is, I would advise you to just forget all about that nonsense. Dating is a pointless activity at our age, you know, nothing but a distraction. You needn’t waste your time on such trivial things.”

“I don’t think it’s a waste to spend time with someone you like. The distraction part might be true, though.” He gazed out of the window at the passing cars, looking unusually pensive. “My grades are worse than usual lately. Maybe that’s why.”

“How much time are you spending around this person, exactly?”

“Kind of a lot, I guess...”

Misono frowned, wondering how on earth Tetsu was managing to spend any significant amount of time with a person who wasn’t him, considering their current arrangement. It seemed improbable, to say the least. Had he been sneaking around with some girl during school this whole time and just gone completely unnoticed? That was the only explanation Misono could come up with, and the thought made him absurdly uncomfortable. It wasn’t as if he felt obligated to know absolutely everything about Tetsu’s personal life, but Misono _really_ didn’t like the idea of him having a secret girlfriend. Or a girlfriend at all, for that matter. It made him feel nauseous to so much as consider it.

“In any case, if your grades are getting worse then I’m sure they can’t be a very good influence!” Misono paused, considering his next words carefully. “If you’d like, I-I suppose I could help you study sometime...”

Tetsu stared at him in surprise for a moment, before smiling slightly and dropping his gaze. “That might make the distraction worse, but it’s worth a try.”

Misono nodded-and then immediately frowned as he replayed Tetsu’s response in his mind with a bit more critical thought involved. It would make his distraction worse? What exactly was _that_ supposed to mean? In the context of this particular conversation, a “distraction” referred to the constant occupancy of a specific person in one’s mind-in other words, an intense, persistent crush. But obviously that couldn’t be what Tetsu was talking about when he insinuated Misono would be a distraction to him. It was far more likely that Tetsu just didn’t fully understand the implications of what he said, or realize how misleading it sounded.

He didn’t get a chance to ponder it further, however, as his phone buzzed with a text from his father (when exactly had his old-fashioned to a fault father even learned how to text?)

_-Make sure that new bodyguard of yours comes inside with you when you return. I’d like to have a few words with him, just to ease some concerns._

“I think my father intends to interrogate you the second we walk through the door.” Misono said flatly, fighting the urge to throw his phone out of the window. 

“Yeah, that makes sense, since we barely talked yesterday,” Tetsu replied, his tone more grounded and serious than it had previously been. “I’ll do my best.” 

Misono shoved the phone back into his pocket, sighing deeply and putting his head in his hands as he tried not to think about any of the multitude of ways their plan could fall apart in the coming hours. 

“I know you will. I can only hope that your best is good enough for him.”

 

\--

 

A few minutes later, Misono found himself being kept waiting on a porch for the second time that day, this time with even less patience to spare.

“Unbelievable...” He muttered, repeatedly pressing the doorbell until the tip of his finger went slightly numb. “What on earth are Lily and the servants up to? Have they all been taking lessons from that incompetent Shibuya family butler?”

“They probably didn’t expect you home this early,” Tetsu said reasonably, but his actions betrayed his calm voice, as he continued shifting in place with thinly veiled concern over what was likely to await him inside. 

Misono didn’t know how to reassure him. He just as nervous about this whole situation as Tetsu was, if not more so. After all, he had the most to lose, were his father to discover the truth behind his deception. The only one who’s risk came close to his own was Lily, who would lose not only a job, but a home-for himself as well as the many orphans he’d adopted who lived in the mansion with him. Misono would have liked to believe his father wouldn’t be cruel enough to turn them out on the streets at the drop of a hat, but he couldn’t count on it. His father could be downright terrifying towards anyone that he perceived to have jeopardized Misono’s safety. 

The door finally swung open to reveal a very surprised looking Lily, who gazed between the two of them in silent confusion for a moment before speaking. “You’re back so soon, Misono...did something happen?”

“Well, I am most definitely not getting engaged to Hitomi, if that’s what you’re asking,” Misono replied flatly, struggling to keep himself from taking out his anger on Lily, whom he knew wasn’t at all to blame for his bad mood. “Is my father here? I’d like to tell him directly that this has been a complete and utter waste of my time.”

“He’s in his study,” Lily said, his brow still furrowed in concern. “I believe he wants a word with Sendagaya, as well.”

“Yes, I know. He actually contacted me directly for once.” Misono sighed and motioned for Tetsu to follow him. “Come along, then...”

His father’s study was very inconveniently located on the second floor, which was a complete and utter pain for Misono to reach considering that even a normal flight of stairs was a gargantuan hurdle for him to overcome, let alone one in a mansion this size. Under normal circumstances, Misono didn’t even bother going up to the second floor of their mansion. Nothing very interesting was kept up there, and Misono generally spent the majority of his time at home in the gardens with a book or in his own room doing schoolwork anyways. In fact, he wasn’t even entirely sure what uses his father had managed to find for all the rooms upstairs. There were so many of them that all of the household’s servants could have their own room and there would still be space left over (and Misono was fairly sure that they roomed in pairs, to make matters more confusing).

The main staircase was located almost directly past the front door, and Lily was still in sight when they reached it, staring over his shoulder at the two of them with a worried expression on his face (though this time, he was likely just worried about whether or not Misono would make it upstairs in the first place). Misono paused at the base of the stairs, sizing them up. The last time he’d actually been upstairs was when he was twelve or so, and since then he’d had no reason to make the extraordinarily tiring trip.

 _Four years_ since he’d been upstairs in his own home. How absolutely pathetic.

“Something wrong?” Tetsu asked, obviously confused about why Misono hadn’t immediately begun ascending the stairs. “You look kind of pale.”

“I-It’s nothing!” Misono said, finally taking a step forward and inwardly praying that he’d be able to reach the top of the staircase without too much trouble.

But considering how especially terrible his luck had been lately, he really ought to have known better than to believe that something would actually be easy for him. Instead, as Misono had feared, he found himself out of breath within a few mere seconds, and before they’d even so much as made it halfway up the staircase, he knew that he had to stop for a break-though he wasn’t looking forward to telling Tetsu that. Misono hated how weak his body was, and found it endlessly embarrassing that physical activities that wouldn’t even make an ordinary person break a sweat were just downright impossible for him to do. 

“Sendagaya,” Misono began, breathing heavily and grabbing onto the back of Tetsu’s shirt as a means of steadying himself. “I...I need to...sit down for a minute...”

“Oh, okay,” Tetsu said simply, obviously not too surprised by his words. Misono supposed he ought to have expected this, seeing as Tetsu was far from unfamiliar with his physical shortcomings (they were in the same gym section, after all). 

Misono collapsed on the step he’d been standing on, relieved to not have to support his body weight anymore. He felt as if his legs might have snapped if he’d remained standing-not to mention, his heart was hammering away so rapidly that it sounded more like a steady hum than a sequence of beats. He vaguely registered that Tetsu had sat down next to him, and had placed a hand on his back (Misono had no idea why people always felt the need to do this, especially to those who were physically exhausted rather than emotionally upset. Was some of Tetsu’s seemingly endless energy supposed to be passed on to him through touch? If that sort of thing worked, Misono’s problems in gym class would have been solved long ago). 

“If you want, I can carry you the rest of the way,” Tetsu suggested casually after a moment of this, and Misono immediately batted his hand away, glaring at him in betrayal. 

“D-don’t make fun of me, bastard!!”

“I’m not trying to make fun of you. I just don’t want you to push yourself too hard.”

“Regardless of your intentions, I absolutely refuse to be carried!” Misono snapped in response, but he stopped his angry glaring upon realizing that Tetsu wasn’t teasing him on purpose. 

“It would really only be for a minute.”

Misono weighed his options in his mind. Option one was, of course, to give in and let Tetsu carry him, which would certainly end in humiliation. Option two was to insist upon climbing the rest of this colossal staircase himself, likely having to pause about ten more times to wheeze like an old man, which would probably be almost as humiliating as option one. So, both would certainly result in embarrassment-but option two had the added drawbacks of being both excessively time consuming and energy consuming. His choice ought to be as clear as day (even if a part of him was strongly in favor of option number three, which was hurling himself over the railings on the side of the staircase instead). 

“F-fine...get it over with, then...” Misono finally muttered after having successfully squandered all urges to choose one of the less prudent options. “And don’t you dare even _think_ about telling anyone at school about this!”

Tetsu smiled very slightly in amusement, and Misono glared indignantly in response. “What about this is funny to you, you bastard!?”

“No, I just…” Tetsu let his sentence trail off momentarily as he very carefully placed one arm underneath Misono’s legs and the other on his back, lifting him up with such ease that one would think he was holding a cat rather than a (likely fully grown, unfortunately) human being. “I think you’re making this into a much bigger deal than it is, that’s all.” 

“I’m _not_ making it into a big deal...idiot...” Misono grumbled, unable to retort with as much bite as he wanted to considering that he was now being effortlessly carried, which was not a position that one could create any aura of intimidation in.

Misono thought he heard Tetsu stifle a small laugh, which made him blush harder. No doubt this was perfectly fine for _him,_ considering it wasn’t even nearly as embarrassing to carry someone as it was to be carried. Tetsu began climbing the stairs again, and Misono involuntarily wrapped his arms around his neck, afraid of being dropped (though this fear was completely unfounded, considering that he seemed to weigh about as much as a few sheets of paper to Tetsu). The position was rather awkward, and yet somehow, Misono didn’t mind it as much as he’d expected to. Of course, he was still completely mortified, but aside from that there wasn’t anything particularly unpleasant about being carried.

As promised, it was over very quickly. Misono’s weight hadn’t slowed Tetsu down even a little bit, and upon reaching the top of the staircase he carefully put him down, keeping a steady hand on his shoulder until Misono shrugged it off, immediately putting about a foot of space between them, and in his inability to decide whether to glare or avert his gaze, ended up doing some weird combination of the two. 

“I’ve never carried someone bridal style before,” Tetsu said cheerfully, ignoring Misono’s awkward behavior. “It was kind of fun.”

“Your idea of _"fun"_ is completely outrageous!” Misono snapped, his voice coming out much shriller than he’d have liked it to be (the term “bridal style” hadn’t even occurred to him, and if there was anything more humiliating than being carried like a child by his friend, it was being carried like they were newlyweds). “If the servants had seen, I’d have been teased for months, you know! Probably years!”

“Good thing they didn’t see it then, right?”

“I _suppose.”_ He grumbled, admittedly grateful that at the very least it had only been Tetsu to witness him in such a shameful state, as usual. “In any case, let’s hurry and find my father’s study before he comes looking for us. I’m not sure exactly where it is, so there’s no time to waste.”

“Okay. Lead the way, then.”

They began wandering the empty halls, checking inside each door that they came across for any signs of human life. Aside from being pretty much deserted, the second floor wasn’t all that different than the first floor, visually speaking. Most of the rooms seemed to be unused, though Misono supposed it was possible that they’d been servant’s quarters in the past. However, there were a few differences that didn’t escape his notice-for example, the paintings lining the wall weren’t oil portraits, as all of the pieces of art on the first floor were. Instead they were watercolor landscapes, with what seemed to be a recurring theme of sunflowers present in many of them. It was obvious to him that they’d all been done by the same artist, though none of them were signed or labeled. 

Despite his best efforts, their situation worsened during the next few minutes, as they not only failed to locate his father’s office, but were also unable to find their way back to the top of the stairs. To add another layer of frustration to this, all of the aimless wandering they’d been doing was depleting Misono’s stamina so quickly that he almost wished Tetsu would offer to carry him again. Above all, he was strongly regretting having not had the foresight to bring Lily with them on their venture. His butler would have likely been able to lead them to their destination without any trouble whatsoever. But instead, he’d stupidly decided to rely on his memories from years ago, which considering their current predicament were obviously not as clear as he’d previously thought. 

“I cannot _believe_ ,” Misono began as he leaned against the wall in exhaustion, his patience wearing thinner by the second, “that I am _lost_ inside of my own home!”

“Why don’t we try going this way?” Tetsu said, pointing down the corridor to the right of where they stood in suggestion. “We haven’t been through here yet, so maybe that’s where your dad’s office is.”

“Perhaps...” Misono paused for a moment to finish catching his breath, and then-for lack of a better idea of what to do at this point-began walking down the unfamiliar hallway. “You had better be right about this, Sendagaya!”

“Don’t worry. I’ve actually got a pretty good sense of direction.”

Misono sincerely doubted that, but at the moment he didn’t exactly have any better ideas, and settled to follow Tetsu as he made his way down the corridor. However, after only a few steps forward, Misono found himself overcome with a strange, somewhat foreboding feeling. This hallway was different than the others from a visual standpoint-the previously pristine, white walls were now covered in ugly, aging yellow wallpaper, and even the floor beneath them had gone from polished mahogany to faded wood that he’d expect to see in an abandoned treehouse rather than an expensive mansion. Misono was rather alarmed by this, to say the least, as he’d been under the impression that the entirety of the mansion was kept in excellent condition by their many servants. It was as if they’d crossed over into another plane of existence, and he had absolutely no idea what to make of it. 

“This is strange,” Misono said, peering into the room to his direct right to find it completely empty-not a single piece of furniture in sight. “I really think we ought to go back, Sendagaya. My father’s study certainly wouldn’t be in a place like this-”

“What about up there?” 

Misono followed Tetsu’s gaze to a small, spiraling staircase at the end of the hall that had somehow escaped his notice. It was made of metal, which looked incredibly out of place, but for some reason gave Misono and even worse feeling, as if he knew on some subconscious level that he wasn’t supposed to be here. 

“I don’t know, nor do I _care,_ ” He snapped, crossing his arms and glaring at Tetsu with attempted (and very likely failed) intimidation. “Just hurry up and...w-wait, where do you think you are going!?” 

Tetsu had approached the staircase without warning and was currently surveying it with casual interest, not seeming to be even remotely concerned about their situation. “Do you think it could be a secret room or something?”

Misono opened his mouth with the intent to reiterate once again just how much he didn’t care, as he was too anxious to feel any measure of curiosity at the moment. However, before he could get the words out, Tetsu had already begun ascending the stairs, completely oblivious to what Misono considered to be an obviously suspicious atmosphere.

“Come back here this instant!” He yelled after him, stomping a foot on the ground defiantly and balling his hands into fists. “Sendagaya! Don’t ignore me, you bastard!!”

He was out of sight in a heartbeat, and Misono had no other choice but to follow, scrambling up the spiral stairs as quickly as he could. Luckily, this was a much shorter staircase than the last, and he was able to successfully ascend it using purely his own strength this time, reaching the top before he was more than slightly out of breath. Tetsu stood waiting patiently at the end of the stairs-and just beyond him was a single door, very large and made of what he assumed to be iron. Misono felt his muscles ache just looking at it, knowing that it must weigh a ton if it was indeed solid metal. 

“You see?” Misono said with great irritation, gesturing at the door vaguely. “We can’t even get through. As I said, we should just go back before we get even more lost than we already are!”

Tetsu shrugged, reaching out to test the door-and to Misono’s great surprise, easily pulling it open with one arm. “It’s unlocked.”

“Unlocked...of course,” He muttered, sighed in resignation. If anyone would be able to open a door made of iron without even breaking a sweat, it was Tetsu.

Misono reluctantly peered inside of the open doorway, expecting yet another barren room. But instead, what greeted him on the other side was clutter to the likes of which he’d never seen in his life (which was saying something, considering he’d been over to Mahiru’s house in between cleanings and witnessed Kuro in his natural habitat-passed out in a bed of snack wrappers while a video game load screen looped endlessly on the tv behind him). From the sunlight shining through the few small windows in the room, Misono could see boxes strewn everywhere from floor to ceiling, some of them halfway open and spilling their contents. His obsessively neat father would never knowingly allow this sort of mess to continue existing in his home-the entire room looked like a tornado had hit it. Misono could only assume that he wasn’t aware of its existence, strange as that may be. 

“It’s just an attic, huh...” Tetsu said, stepping over the threshold and gazing around the room with interest. “You’ve really never been here before?”

“Not that I can remember, no.” 

Against his better judgement, Misono followed Tetsu inside the room, coughing a bit when he inhaled. The air in the room seemed to be about fifty percent dust particles. He hoped they wouldn’t be staying much longer since his sinuses were sensitive to any change in the air whatsoever, not to mention that his allergies were very severe thanks to his weak immune system. But Tetsu was obviously fascinated with the room, for whatever reason, and after staring for a moment proceeded to walk over to the wall on the far right side, peering out of the small window that seemed to overlook the lawn in front of their home.

“Woah, we’re pretty high up. I can see our school from here.” 

Misono glanced through the window with disinterest before turning his attention back to the door, which had closed behind them rather quietly, considering its weight. “Sendagaya, I want to go back now.”

“Huh?” Tetsu turned his gaze back to Misono, frowning in concern. “Oh...yeah, no problem. We can leave.”

Exhaling in relief at his cooperation, Misono walked over to the door and stood aside to allow Tetsu to open it for him (he knew better than to even attempt to do it himself). However, when Tetsu tugged at the handle just as he’d done before, the door didn’t budge. He frowned in confusion, trying it again-first with more strength, and when that didn’t work, resorting to using two hands instead. After a solid minute of useless pulling he released the handle, turning back towards Misono with a rather defeated look on his face.

“I can’t open it.”

“What do you mean you can’t open it!? You were able to just a moment ago!” 

Tetsu glanced back at the door, scratching the back of his head in confusion. “I think it might be locked...I dunno how, though. If someone had come up the stairs I’d have heard it.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, it can’t possibly be locked! Let me try it!” Misono pushed past Tetsu, grabbing hold of the knob and twisting it violently. To his utmost horror, he heard the unmistakable click of a barrier, and immediately turned back to Tetsu in a state of total panic. “It _is_ locked! Sendagaya, kick the door down immediately!!”

“I don’t think I can kick through a metal door...”

“It’s your fault we’re in this mess to begin with, so take responsibility!” 

“You always seem have good ideas in times like this. Why don't you relax a bit and maybe something will come to you?”

“Don’t tell me to relax, you bastard! I didn’t even want to come up here in the first place!”

Tetsu shrugged nonchalantly. “I think we'll be fine. Won’t someone come looking for you pretty soon?”

“Who knows how long that will take?” Misono yelled, not feeling any better about their predicament despite Tetsu’s reassurance. “Wait a moment...Sendagaya, do you have your cell phone with you? I left mine downstairs, but if yours is working-”

“Good idea.” Tetsu pulled out his phone, flipping it open and pressing a few buttons. “Oh...sorry, I guess it’s out of charge.”

Misono collapsed onto one of the boxes in dismay (luckily, he was light enough that it didn’t cave in with his weight). “Excellent. We’re trapped in a dusty old attic that the servants probably don’t even know _exists_ , without any means of contacting anyone whatsoever!”

“When you put it that way it sounds kinda bad...”

“It’s more than _“kinda bad”,_ you idiot! It could be hours before they find us! W-we might even be in here all night!” 

“It probably won’t be that long,” Tetsu said, leaning on the wall directly across from Misono. “But while we’re here, why don’t we look inside some of these boxes?”

“What is this, an archaeological dig?” Misono snapped, taken aback by the casual way in which Tetsu was reacting to their situation. “Don’t be so eager to go snooping through my family heirlooms!” 

“We might be able to find something that will help us get out. Like something to pick a lock with.”

“Oh...well, that’s...rather clever of you, Sendagaya,” Misono said, quite surprised at the rare, logical suggestion from Tetsu. The thought had honestly not even occurred to him-he didn’t know how to pick locks, nor what tools were generally used. “I-I’m just asking to make sure, of course, but...what exactly would we be looking for?” 

“Screwdrivers, paper clips, hairpins, wire...stuff like that.”

Misono nodded, immediately grabbing the box nearest to him and beginning to rifle through its contents. Even if they didn’t find anything, at least this would pass the time and take his mind off the unrelenting fear that was currently in the process of consuming him. 

\--


	6. Chapter 6

Hours and what felt like hundreds of boxes later, the two of them were left with nothing but a pile of miscellaneous objects, none of which had any apparent potential to be used as lockpicks. Misono was in an extremely foul mood at this point, irritated that even after their long and arduous search they still remained empty handed. Despite his initial confidence, all Tetsu had managed to do thus far was break about ten different fine china plates, and his constant mumbled apologies were beginning to wear on Misono’s nerves almost as much as the sound of smashed porcelain. 

“There is nothing but garbage up here,” Misono threw aside another empty box in frustration, scowling as it fell from the air a mere three feet in front of him and inwardly cursing his lack of arm strength. “Absolutely useless, all of it!”

“Yeah, I haven’t found anything either. At least not anything I can pick a lock with.”

“To think that I’d be spending my sunday afternoon like this...what a waste of time!“ He muttered bitterly, rubbing his temples in an attempt to calm himself, only to frown as a new thought occurred to him. “I meant to ask this earlier, but why exactly do you know how to pick a lock in the first place? It’s a rather suspicious skill to have.”

“Oh, I learned it by accident-thought I was reading instructions on how to fix a flat tire,” Tetsu said, shrugging casually as if that was a mistake anyone could make. “But don’t worry, I’ve practiced it a few times since then so I’m pretty sure I can do it.”

As far from reassuring as _that_ was, Misono didn’t feel like pushing the topic any further since it would certainly result in him losing what little hope he had left for their situation. He turned back to the boxes in front of him, sighing defeatedly as he grabbed one and tore it open, only to be met with yet another set of ornamental dishes and cutlery, this time complete with a moth bitten tablecloth that had probably been pearly white and lacy before dulling with age. He could only assume that there must have been a time when his parents were having dinner parties every single night-but then again, even Misono was able to somewhat acknowledge the fact that rich families such as his own did tend to collect fancy things whether they were of any use or not, simply because they could afford to. 

“Do you know her?” 

Misono shook himself out of his thoughts and looked up to see that Tetsu was holding a photograph up to him. He moved forward to gaze more closely at the faded picture before recoiling in surprise, immediately recognizing the elegant yet somber face that he was met with.

“That’s...my mother, when she was young. Where did you find it?”

“There are a bunch of photos of her in here,” Tetsu said, indicating to the box in front of him before glancing back at the picture with increased interest. “You’ve never mentioned your mom before. Are your parents separated?”

“No. She passed away when I was a child.” 

“Oh...I’m sorry.”

Misono shook his head dismissively, his extreme aversion to anything he registered as pity appearing as it always did in times like this. “It was a long time ago.”

Tetsu stared at him for a moment longer before continuing to leaf through the photos. Misono found himself fighting a sudden urge to grab them out of Tetsu’s hands and shut them back into their box, worried about what sort of family secrets they might reveal. His father kept a very meticulously organized scrapbook detailing the various stages of Misono’s life, so obviously these pictures in particular had been left out for a reason-and he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to know what that reason might be.

“Hey, this one’s of you.” Tetsu held another photo up in front of him, and sure enough, it was his own face that Misono saw smiling back, happy and innocent in what might as well have been a snapshot of another lifetime. “How old are you here?”

“Around seven or eight, I think.”

“Wow, I’d have guessed way younger. You were really tiny,” Tetsu said, tilting his head and turning the picture over to stare at it curiously. “And cute.”

“I have never been “tiny” in my life!” Misono snatched the photo from him, setting it face down on the floor. “Or cute, either!” 

“You’re still sort of tiny.”

“I am only 15.4 centimeters below average, that isn’t _“tiny”_ by any normal person’s st..stand… _achoo!”_

Misono broke off into a bout of what was likely dust-induced sneezing, only just managing to pull out a handkerchief from his pocket in time. After a full thirty seconds of this, he finally managed to get himself under control and straightened up again, glowering as he noticed Tetsu watching him with a small smile on his face.

“What are you looking at, bastard?!” 

“You’re still cute, too.”

The usual biting response Misono had prepared to give died in his throat as he felt his face heat up in embarrassment, but he was saved from the need to provide any sort of answer to such an outlandish statement as Tetsu’s attention was drawn in by yet another bundle of dusty old polaroids. There seemed to be entire boxes filled with nothing but photographs that Misono hadn’t even known existed, and it invoked equal amounts of curiosity and apprehension in him. 

“Looks like your brother is in most of these,” Tetsu said, offering a few photos to him after he’d glanced at them momentarily. 

“Well, that would explain why they’re locked away up here,” Misono replied rather glumly, reluctantly accepting the photos. Seeing pictures of his brother and him as children was still slightly painful for him on some level, despite the many years that had passed. “My father likes to pretend that Mikuni doesn’t exist.”

“Because he ran away?”

“Partially. But their relationship has always been a bit complicated.”

“...What about you?” Tetsu continued after a moment, seeming to be considering his words carefully for once. “I mean, I know you don’t like your brother very much…is it just because he left, or did you not get along with him before that either?” 

“We were very close, actually. That was what made his disappearance so difficult for me to understand,” Misono paused, surprised at how easy he was finding it to talk about his family with Tetsu. Normally he wouldn’t even think about opening up this much to anybody-and now that he’d started, he was actually finding it difficult to stop. “It must be hard to imagine, but he really was a good brother before he left, though I’ve often wondered whether his kindness towards me back then could have just been a ruse. I suppose I’ll never really know for sure, since on the rare occasions that we meet he treats my anger as if it’s all a joke and refuses to explain himself...” Misono let his words trail off, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed by his own uncharacteristic honesty. “I-I can’t imagine this is anything you’d want to hear about in such detail, though-”

“No, I’m glad you’re telling me,” Tetsu interrupted, locking eyes with Misono and staring with a level of intensity that was uncharacteristic of him. “I want to know more about you.” 

“You…” Misono cleared his throat, intentionally breaking eye contact with Tetsu and continuing in a quiet mumble, “y-you’re the only one who I’ve ever really talked about this sort of thing with, actually...” 

‘ _And the only one I’ve ever wanted to talk about it with’_ , his mind silently amended, and he couldn’t really deny that either-as close as he was with Mahiru, he had never gotten the urge to open up in such a genuine way. And when it came to Lily, he’d never really felt that he _needed_ to say anything, as his butler had practically raised him and thus generally knew what he was thinking without having to be told. Misono didn’t like to appear emotionally vulnerable to others on principle, and a part of him was still rejecting the decision to let Tetsu in, but he knew that this was something that he desperately needed. 

“Thanks for trusting me,“ Tetsu said after a moment’s pause, his surprised expression giving way to a soft smile. “It means a lot.”

“D-don’t make it seem like such a big deal!” Misono protested immediately, blushing deeply and reverting to his usual defenses on instinct. “It’s not as if I’m purposely giving you special treatment or anything!” 

He clumsily got to his feet before Tetsu could respond to his obvious backpedaling, walking over to the window in search of some sort of distraction from the awkward atmosphere he’d created-and instantly regretted having done so as he saw that the sun had finally set behind the trees, which forced him to consider for the first time that they really might be stuck up here all night. If no one had found them in all of these hours, it seemed foolish to continue hoping for salvation, but the alternative was just too much for him to bear. He was hungry, thirsty, and constantly coughing from the dust in the air, but above all else, he was terrified by the prospect of being trapped in a totally dark room until dawn without the nightlight he normally slept with. 

“It’s almost eight thirty,” Misono stated, checking his watch for confirmation before glancing back up at Tetsu, who was inexplicably rummaging through boxes once again. “What time do you normally go to bed, Sendagaya?” 

“Nine on school nights. I found a blanket, by the way.” Tetsu emerged from behind the rows of boxes at the far end of the room, shaking the dusty, patched expanse of cloth that was in his hands before laying it down on the open space in the middle of the floor. “It’s about as thick as a tatami, so we can sleep on it if we need to.”

“This ratty old thing is not a remotely acceptable replacement for a bed!” Misono exclaimed furiously, crossing his arms and glaring down at the quilt in distaste. “I’m going to be covered in bruises tomorrow if I sleep like this!”

“You could fold it in half so that it’s more comfortable if you want, I’m fine with sleeping on the floor.”

Misono sighed in resignation and sat down on the blanket (which was only slightly softer than the wooden floors, to his immense displeasure). “I don’t suppose I’ll be getting any rest either way, so you might as well share it with me.”

“Don’t you usually fall asleep really quickly?” Tetsu snapped his fingers to signify the way Misono tended to drop unconscious in the evening without any notice whatsoever. “I’ve even seen you pass out mid-sentence while standing up.”

“Y-yes, but...to be honest, I’m usually unable to sleep if I’m frightened at all...” Misono murmured, his face heating up in embarrassment at being forced to admit to something so shamefully childish. 

“Oh, you’re afraid of the dark, right?” An expression of concern crossed his face immediately (Misono subconsciously wondered when he’d begun to pick up on the miniscule changes to Tetsu’s features that he’d so frequently overlooked before). “It’ll probably be worse since we’re up here, too….Hugh always used to worry about there being monsters and stuff up in the attic. But monsters aren’t real, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Don’t treat me like I’m some ignorant child that has to be told that monsters aren’t real, you bastard!” Misono shouted indignantly, crossing his arms and glaring at Tetsu in irritation. “And it doesn’t matter what I know to be true, because I assure you that my amygdala doesn’t care whether the rest of my brain finds the fear it produces rational or not!”

“Your amyg...what?”

Misono rolled his eyes and flipped over on the mat in a huff, rolling up the jacket he’d taken off earlier and using it as a makeshift pillow. “Never mind! Now be quiet, I’m going to try and fall asleep before the street lamps go out.”

“I guess I will too. Can’t really do much searching in the dark.”

He felt Tetsu lay down next to him and immediately grew rather tense, finding himself unable to concentrate on anything but his presence beside him. The irony of this situation wasn’t missed on Misono, of course-it was only natural that in his vehemence the other night to avoid sleeping next to the very person who was making him feel such a confusing array of emotions, all forces in the universe had come together to make sure it did happen after all. He supposed he’d just have to accept the fact that his life had apparently devolved into an endless sequence of embarrassing and unpleasant situations without any room to breathe between them. 

And then there was the additional, more pressing issue of the rapidly dimming light in the room, which was impossible for him to ignore. Lily had explained to him when he was a child that fear of the dark was, in its essence, just the fear of the unknown, but understanding this had never really helped him control it. Perhaps he’d just never had any motive to try, since he’d always had his own room and thus leaving a light on wasn’t an issue. But that certainly didn’t mean he wasn’t still ashamed of it. There was just about nothing Misono hated more than being treated like a child, as he was so often due to his appearance, so to also be cursed by something as juvenile as an unconditional fear of the dark was a cruel twist of fate. 

The familiar feeling of immense foreboding crept under his skin as the light slowly faded into complete darkness, causing him to shudder despite the stillness of the room’s air. As usual, all he could concentrate on was what might be lurking beyond his limited vision, waiting to snatch him up and eat him alive. Of course, he knew that he wasn’t actually in any danger of being attacked by some otherworldly being, but even Misono’s highly logical mind managed to betray him on occasion. He tried to concentrate on Tetsu’s steady breathing beside him, but while the knowledge that there was another person beside him was somewhat reassuring, it didn’t stop him from panicking every time he heard a noise from somewhere else in the room. 

_‘That creaking sound is just the pipes.’_ Misono silently told himself, hoping that if he repeated it enough he might trick himself into actually believing it. _‘It’s not a ghost or a monster, only children would believe something like that. Get yourself together!’_

Predictably, this didn’t work one bit, and as his fear began to outweigh both his pride and rationality, Misono was unable to stop himself from grabbing Tetsu around the middle and burying his face into his shirt, trying to rid himself of the images his mind was conjuring up. He probably could have anticipated that this would end up happening, considering that he used to do the same thing to his brother when they were younger and occasionally shared a bed. As humiliating as it was to admit, it seemed to be instinctive for him to react to fear this way, 

“You okay?” Tetsu asked quietly after a moment, luckily not seeming to be totally repelled by what Misono considered to be incredibly shameful behavior on his part. 

“Yes, f-fine...” Misono managed to reply, but considering his voice was muffled due to his face being buried in Tetsu’s shirt, he doubted his words were very convincing. 

“You’re shaking, though...” Before Misono could protest (not that he was entirely sure he would have, if given the chance), Tetsu had wrapped his arms around him in return, pulling him into a gentle embrace that somehow managed to significantly reduce his fear in a matter of seconds. “We can stay like this, if it helps. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

If Misono had been his usual argumentative self, he would have pointed out that his protection technically meant next to nothing in this situation, because you couldn’t exactly just punch a supernatural being in the face (though he had no doubt that Tetsu would certainly try it, if given the opportunity). But logical or not, he couldn’t deny that he felt safer like this. There was something immensely comforting about Tetsu’s presence, though his rapidly beating heart hadn’t slowed down very much-in fact, it may have actually sped up. Misono didn’t have any good explanation for why this might be, and he couldn’t help but let his mind wander back to the results of his loathed research session once again. 

_‘Love sick...there’s just no way.’_

He immediately shut down that train of thought, deciding that it was a rather dangerous thing to contemplate in the position he was currently in. Certainly, sleep wouldn’t come easy if all he could focus on were these silly emotions that were better suited to be buried deep within his mind and kept there for as long as possible. Misono took a few deep breaths, willing himself to calm down. At least he wasn’t afraid any more-not of ghosts or monsters, at least-and with his fear in a more manageable state, he finally began to feel a bit sleepy.

Unfortunately, his newfound state of weariness disappeared as quickly as it’d come when he felt Tetsu’s hand unexpectedly thread through his hair, and Misono couldn’t stop himself from tensing up, teeth gritted together so tightly that he thought his jaw might snap. Seeming to be oblivious to Misono’s conflicting emotions about their current arrangement, Tetsu continued stroking his hair, his other hand resting comfortably on the arm that Misono was still clinging to him tightly with. It was such an intimate position, similar to the way Misono imagined a married couple might sleep (the thought of which certainly did nothing to slow his now dangerously high heart rate). On an even more concerning note, being close to Tetsu like this seemed to fill him with nothing but pleasant emotions, if he were to ignore the butterflies in his stomach and the fact that he was probably on the verge of cardiac arrest. It was simultaneously exciting and calming, both terrifying and reassuring, and Misono didn’t know what to make of any of it.

But he didn’t have much time to ponder this any farther, as in that very moment the metal door burst open to reveal a frantic looking Lily, who seemed about ready collapse in relief as he caught sight of them in the light that had spilled into the room.

“Lily!” Misono lept to his feet as if a fire had been lit beneath him, almost stumbling in his effort to put as much distance between himself and Tetsu as he could. “I-It’s about time you finally showed up!”

“Misono, thank goodness you’re okay! I thought something horrible might have happened!” He exclaimed, before shifting his gaze to Tetsu, his expression switching immediately from relief to immense surprise, his eyes darted between the two of them as if he were trying to mentally piece together a puzzle.“You two...ah...”

“W-wait a minute, whatever you’re thinking-” Misono tried to interject, only for Lily to hold up a hand to silence him.

“No need to make excuses, I understand! It’s perfectly fine if you two wanted some time alone, but please tell me in advance next time so that I’m not worried-”

“We didn’t lock ourselves up here on purpose, you bastard! We were _lost!”_

Lily did not look remotely convinced by his words, much to Misono’s frustration. “In any case, I’m so relieved to have found you! Oh, I ought to call your father-he’s been in an absolute frenzy since this afternoon...”

Misono’s (admittedly almost nonexistent to begin with) hopes that his father might not have noticed his absence shriveled at Lily’s words. “Is he downstairs right now?”

“No, he’s out. I’m not sure exactly where, but my best guess is that he’s at the police station trying to bribe the officers into dropping every case in order to look for you.”

“How ridiculous...I wish I could say he wouldn’t do something so extreme when I’ve only been gone a few hours, but it wouldn’t be the first time.”

Eager to escape the dark, dusty attic, Misono pushed past Lily and into hallway, exhaling in relief as he was bathed in light once more. Tetsu followed him through the door a moment later, and the three of them began wordlessly walking through the winding halls, Lily leading the way. He seemed to know how to navigate all of the twists and turns of the upstairs halls perfectly, and Misono wished once again that he’d asked for Lily’s help finding his father’s office in the first place. There was no doubt that he could have prevented this mess from ever happening if he hadn’t been too proud to admit his own incompetence. 

“Why is this part of the mansion so different than the rest?” Misono asked suddenly, looking around in distaste at the chipping paint and strange decor. “And I certainly don’t mean a _good_ sort of different.”

Lily sighed wistfully, as if he’d been hoping to avoid that very question. “Ah, well...as it so happens, this entire wing belonged to your mother-the upstairs section, at least.” 

“...I see. So that’s why it’s been so neglected in recent years, then?” 

“Yes. Unfortunately, your father forbids us from cleaning this area. I believe he wishes for it to remain a sort of shrine to her.” 

“Well, I’d strongly urge him to reconsider, if I were you,” Misono said, scrunching up his nose in distaste at the musty smell that hung around the corridors. “It’s terribly unsightly up here. A shrine is supposed to be a celebration of one’s memory, not an insult.”

Lily hummed in affirmation, the unusually somber expression on his face more than enough to convince Misono to drop the subject. He knew that Lily had been close to his mother, since she was the one who’d taken him off the streets and invited him to live in their mansion as a butler. As young as Misono had been at the time, he still clearly remembered the image of his gaunt, grief-stricken butler wandering the halls like a ghost in the days following her death. It wasn’t a memory he liked to dwell upon if he could help it.

Thankfully, Misono was able to descend the stairs with his own strength, though he was still quite out of breath by the end of them. Upon reaching the bottom, Lily pulled out his cell phone, typing a quick message that Misono assumed was directed at his father. He sighed inwardly, trying not to wonder what sort of fiasco must have been going down at their local police station right about then-his father really was the king of overreactions, at least when it came to his safety. Misono could only imagine the pressure he’d put on the officers in the unlikely event of an actual kidnapping.

His growling stomach promptly reminded him of his more base needs, and he turned to Lily, relieved to see that the mournful look had disappeared from his face. “I haven’t eaten since this morning, so I’d like to have a late dinner before I retire to bed.” 

“Of course, I’ll have the cooks prepare something for the two of you right away,” Lily replied cheerily, bowing his head slightly and starting off down the hall. 

“I should actually be heading home now,” Tetsu said to Misono as soon as Lily had disappeared from sight. “My parents are probably worried.”

Misono merely nodded stiffly, the tension from earlier having returned tenfold the moment Lily had left. Tetsu was still standing firmly in place, and Misono guessed that he was waiting for him to offer to walk him to the door, since that obviously would have been the polite thing to do in this situation. But all Misono wanted at this point was for Tetsu to disappear from his presence as quickly as possible. He needed to be alone, to give himself time to comprehend what was happening between them-if anything _was_ actually happening, that is. Tetsu was behaving so casually that Misono couldn’t help but second guess his definition of what “normal friend interactions” looked like. After all, he didn’t have a very wide frame of reference to begin with. 

“You know where the door is, don’t you?” Misono said rather coldly, the silence having dragged on too long for him to bear.

“Yeah, I do.” Tetsu didn’t move, nor did he seem to be remotely put off by Misono’s sudden aloof behavior. “Will you walk with me?”

 _Damn it._ Misono had hoped to avoid this exact situation, but as usual, Tetsu couldn’t take a hint if it was presented to him on a silver platter. Unable to come up with a reasonable excuse, he merely began walking in the direction of the front door as quickly as he could, trying to keep enough distance between himself and Tetsu to make conversation impossible. Of course, this didn’t end up working too well, as Tetsu’s strides easily outstretched his own with no effort at all, and they were side-by-side again in an instant. 

“Are you mad?”

The unthinkably straightforward question startled Misono so much that he stumbled and very nearly toppled over completely, only just managing to grab onto Tetsu in time to balance himself. He immediately pushed him away upon gaining his bearings, straightening up and averting his gaze once again.

“What gives you that impression?” 

Tetsu shrugged, slowing his pace slightly as they neared the door, as if he were intentionally trying to prolong Misono’s suffering, or so he might have thought had he not known Tetsu to always be childishly up-front about everything. He never had ulterior motives, and in most cases said exactly what was on his mind no matter how embarrassing or irrelevant it may be. It was a quality Misono admittedly found sort of endearing, but he really could have done without it in this particular instance.

“You’ve got plenty of reasons to be,” Tetsu said after a moment, and as Misono spared a glance in his direction he was surprised to note that he actually looked a bit troubled. “I got us locked in the attic for hours...and on friday you were in the nurse’s office because some guys tripped you, remember?”

“How on earth is it _your_ fault that I was tripped?!” Misono blurted out incredulously, forgetting to maintain the detached facade he’d been manning since they’d left the attic. 

“I should have predicted it would happen. I knew those guys were picking on you, they target you during every dodgeball match-”

“But it’s not your responsibility to ensure my safety, how many times have I told you that you’re not a real bodyguard?!”

“No, it’s not...uh...how do I say it…” Tetsu frowned, scratching the back of his head in obvious frustration for the lack of words he had in his arsenal that might properly convey whatever point he was trying to make. “It’s not about the bodyguard thing...it’s never been about that, actually. I want to protect you for real, not just pretend to.”

“Well, contrary to what seems to be popular belief, I’m not just some kind of helpless child that requires everyone’s protection!”

“I know you aren’t,” Tetsu said immediately, his voice suddenly as soft as Misono had ever heard it. “You’re the smartest, most amazing person I know, and I don't think of you as helpless at all. But I know that you would step in if me or Mahiru were in any danger at all, so doesn’t it make sense that we’d try and do the same for you?”

For what must have been the hundredth time that day, Misono found himself at an utter loss for words. They had reached the doorway by this point, but Tetsu hadn’t made any attempt to leave, and was instead staring at Misono as if waiting for some kind of response. But Misono’s mind had gone completely blank, his heart now beating so loudly that it seemed to drown out all external sounds. It shouldn’t be possible for someone to have such an affect on him, for a few simple words to be enough to make his knees weak, his stomach flutter, and his heart skip a beat. How could this be _happening?_

“Y-you say some rather insightful things on occasion, Sendagaya,” Misono finally managed to stutter out, forcing himself to look Tetsu in the eyes as he continued speaking in what he hoped was a casual tone. “I suppose I will allow you to protect me however you see fit, in that case...but know that if the need ever arises, I will protect you in return. Even if I’m not strong, there are plenty of things I can do for you, so...so don’t even think about refusing my help when the time comes, understand!?”

The expression of delight Tetsu gave him in response to his words was almost blinding, and Misono dropped his gaze immediately, the blush that was already present on his face deepening tenfold. 

“S-stop looking at me like that, you idiot!” He barked demandingly, though he suspected that the effectiveness of his words was rather dampened by the fact that he was too embarrassed to maintain any semblance of eye contact. “You should be leaving, didn’t you say your parents would be worried if you didn’t get home soon?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Tetsu finally swung the door open, crossing the threshold before turning around in an attempt to catch Misono’s increasingly fleeting gaze once more. “Goodnight, Misono.”

Misono nodded stiffly in response, before slamming the door shut as quickly as he thought he could get away with while avoiding any suspicion. He then proceeded to wander back into his room in an almost dreamlike state, sitting down in a slump at his desk and finally allowing himself to really _think_ about his current predicament, without hiding behind the wall of denial he’d so carefully built up over the past week. There was no doubt that Misono was quite prolific when it came to stifling his own emotions, but at this point, denying the fact that he had feelings for Tetsu would have been nothing but willful ignorance. 

Being able to admit it to himself felt good on some level. It was a relief not to have to pretend anymore, to be able to let go of all the ridiculous excuses he’d been pulling out of thin air to explain away what was so clearly a crush-his first crush, at that. Misono had always thought of himself as above such petty things, regarding romantic love as nothing more than a drug that made people even more stupid than they already were. Relationships seemed like a distraction at best, as he knew that more often than not they ended in nothing but heartbreak and hatred. Aside from continuing on one's family line, Misono could not think of a single good reason any sensible person would willingly inflict any of this upon themselves.

Deep down inside of his subconsciousness, however, the idea of true love was something that sort of appealed to him. Perhaps it was old fashioned, but he often found classic novels to be romantic in a way that he actually found rather enticing. He enjoyed tales of star-crossed lovers and two people bound by the string of fate, but it had always been something he firmly believed to be a fictional concept, and the idea of being in love himself was a thing he’d never even bothered to consider. It wasn’t even an _option_ , seeing as he’d long since resigned himself to the fact that his future wife would be a business partner, not a romantic partner. 

His thoughts were interrupted by a single knock on the door, followed closely by Lily barging in without waiting for a response as usual-but Misono was unable to bring himself to complain when he saw that his butler was armed with a tray of food. He got to his feet again immediately, grabbing a plate of something-or-another off of the tray and proceeding to devour it so quickly that it made Lily visibly wince in distaste.

“Honestly, Misono, your manners are absolutely terrible when you’re hungry…” He chided, nevertheless giving him a small smile as he watched him inhale his food. “By the way, I got in touch with your father. He should back home fairly soon.”

“Did he seem angry?”

“He’s more relieved than anything else, I think.” 

“Hm.” Misono decided not to get his hopes up about that. After all, his father’s emotions tended to cycle very rapidly, and relief could easily turn into anger at the drop of a hat. “I hope he won’t blame this on Sendagaya….the last thing we need is for him to be conducting an extensive background check.” 

“You needn’t worry about that-I plan to fully accept the blame for what happened.” Lily paused for a moment, his expression changing suddenly as if he’d just remembered something he deemed to be of the utmost importance. “Ah, that’s right! Now, I know you’ve said you were up in the attic by accident, but even so...I can’t help but wonder, is there _really_ nothing at all going on between you and Sendagaya?”

“There isn’t!” Misono yelled, having nearly choked on his food in his haste to answer. “A-and it’s none of your business anyways!”

Lily put a dramatic hand over his heart. “None of my business? Misono, you know you can confide in me about these things, don’t you?”

“Why on earth would I ever tell you something so personal? You couldn’t keep a secret if your life depended on it!”

“So there _is_ a secret you’re keeping, then?”

“I-I never said that! Stop twisting my words, you bastard!”

Lily chuckled to himself, collecting the now empty plate from Misono and placing it back on the tray. “All right, I won’t push you to talk about it. But if you ever need any relationship advice-”

“Good _night,_ Lily!”

Misono practically pushed his butler out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him with as much force as he could muster-which, admittedly, was not very much force at all. 

 

\--

 

The next morning was rather awkward, to say the least. He’d fallen asleep before his father had arrived home the previous night, and was thus subject to an endless barrage of questions from him over breakfast. Luckily, Mikado wasn’t particularly angry at Misono or Tetsu, and instead seemed to have inwardly shifted the blame upon himself. He spent a good portion of the morning cursing his own incompetence, apologizing constantly for not planning to meet the two of them downstairs instead of in his office on the second floor, and making Misono promise not to go wandering around upstairs ever again (as if he needed to be _told_ something like that, after the ordeal he’d been through).

While he was eager to escape his father’s overbearing presence, arriving at school was very much a case of going straight from the frying pan into the fire, so to speak. As usual, Tetsu had been waiting for him outside of the school gates, and Misono couldn’t help the bout of nervous sweating that overcame him as a result. After all, this was the first time he’d seen Tetsu upon having realized the nature of the feelings he held for him, and it was rather difficult to even attempt to converse with him as if nothing had changed despite how painfully aware he now was of his own hopeless crush. 

But thankfully, they weren’t left alone for long. As Misono ought to have predicted, Mahiru ran up to them the second they walked through the doors, having broken away from the group of friends he’d been chatting with without a second glance.

“Did you two both chuck your phones into the river or something?” He said heatedly upon reaching them, holding up his own phone and waving it in front of him. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you since yesterday, I thought something bad might have happened!”

“Something bad _did_ happen,” Misono grumbled in response, his mood worsening upon being reminded of yesterday’s fiasco. “We were locked in an attic for seven hours straight. Is that a good enough excuse for you?!”

“What?” Mahiru frowned, looking between them in obvious confusion. “How the heck did that happen?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” 

“Uh...okay...” He still seemed rather curious, but apparently had enough tact to drop what was obviously a sore subject. “So anyways, how’d your date go?”

“You two were on a date, huh?” A new voice interrupted their conversation-Sakuya had appeared behind Mahiru, a hatefully smug look on his face. “I’m surprised nobody called the cops.” 

“We were not on a date with _each other!”_ Misono yelped, blushing deeply at the suggestion. “A-and even if we were, why would the police be called? Only an unparalleled idiot would mistake me for an actual child!” 

“I thought you were a grade schooler when we first met, remember?” Tetsu said unhelpfully, and Misono gave him an angry glance that seemed to prompt him to add, “Just for a minute, though...” 

“Well, I guess one particular “unparalleled idiot” just proved your point.”

“Don’t you dare call him an idiot, you bastard!” 

“Oh...defensive, are we?” Sakuya's smirk widened in response to Misono’s words, and he leaned forward in what was probably supposed to be an intimidating gesture. “I do seem to recall _you_ being the one who calls him an idiot the most.” 

“T-that’s different!” 

“ _Anyways,_ ” Mahiru began, speaking loudly in a clear attempt to interrupt their spat, “Tetsu, Misono-wanna have lunch together today? There’s something I want to tell you guys.”

Misono made a show of accepting Mahiru’s invitation, taking great pleasure in witnessing the dejected scowl that appeared on Sakuya's face. 

 

\--


	7. Chapter 7

\--

Despite Misono’s best efforts, the revelation he’d come to the previous night remained firmly cemented in the back of his mind, and he spent the majority of homeroom trying to keep his thoughts at bay. He’d even missed his name during attendance due to his state of perpetual distraction (much to the amusement of his peers, a few of whom jeered at him before being shushed by their teacher). Misono was actually rather fond of his homeroom teacher-she wasn’t the lenient type that let his classmates bully him right under her nose, unlike certain _other_ school employees who always turned a blind eye when anything troublesome happened.

Upon being dismissed, Misono wandered into the hallway and began walking in the direction of his first class, stopping only when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to glare at the culprit, fists clenched in annoyance.

“I’ve told you before to stop doing that, you bastard! Are you trying to give me a bruise?”

“Right, sorry,” Mahiru said, obviously not as concerned as he ought to be about Misono’s potentially ruptured capillaries. “You’re here kind of early for a monday. Don’t you usually just skip gym altogether nowadays?”

A moment’s pause followed his words, during which Misono’s expression morphed from mild annoyance to outright horror.

“No, it can’t be...how could I have forgotten something so important?!” 

“You forgot what?” Tetsu’s voice interrupted their conversation out of nowhere, and Misono flinched slightly in surprise.

“The days of the week, apparently,” Mahiru said, rolling his eyes exasperatedly. “You two are in the same gym section, right?”

“Yes...” Misono reluctantly turned to face Tetsu, still finding it rather difficult to meet his gaze. “In that case, Sendagaya...I-I suppose I’ll rely on you, for now.”

“Yeah. I’ll protect you, just like I said I would.” .

Mahiru raised an eyebrow. “Um...this is _gym class_ we’re talking about, not trench warfare. Don’t you think you’re being a tad dramatic?”

“Gym class _is_ a warzone!” Misono exclaimed, frustrated that Mahiru didn’t understand how dire his situation was. “Do you even realize how many people have died from playing dodgeball?!”

“No, and I don’t want to know!” 

“Those who embrace their own demise at the hands of willful ignorance are fools, Shirota!”

“I guess I’m a fool then!” He snapped, a vein in his forehead twitching in annoyance. “Whatever! I’m gonna go to class.”

“Fine!” Misono turned around in a huff and began to walk down the corridor that led to the gymnasium, Tetsu following closely after him. “ _You_ recognize the severity of this situation, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry. If anyone tries to hurt you I’ll just punch them or something. I hope it doesn’t come to that, though….I don’t think I’ve ever actually hit anyone on purpose before.”

Misono fought a slight smile, despite the fact that threats of violence were probably not something he ought to be pleased about. Tetsu was such a refreshingly simple person, even if there _were_ still times when he would say or do something that left Misono completely baffled (and such moments seemed to be steadily increasing in frequency as of late). But despite his occasional complexities, Misono knew that he could probably ask him what he was thinking at any given moment and expect to get a straightforward, honest answer in return.

_...Except for that one time._

Misono thought back to the conversation they’d had in the car the other day, during which Tetsu had admitted to having a crush on someone, but refused to elaborate any further. Strangely enough, Misono had somehow completely forgotten about it in the wake of their unexpected lockdown in the attic. 

_Someone he’s been spending a lot of time with lately...who could it possibly be if not me?_

That was the only logical conclusion he could come up with, but despite it all adding up, he couldn’t accept it as the undeniable truth-because if he did, then he’d have to properly face his own feelings. Would they start dating? That was what people did when they both liked each other, wasn’t it? Misono couldn’t even begin to imagine himself in a relationship. It was foreign territory that he dared not venture into, even within the confines of his own thoughts.

_My future is already set in stone, anyways. There’s no point getting involved in something that won’t last._

He managed to push the thoughts to the back of his mind as they entered the doors to the gymnasium, heading in the direction of the boy’s locker room. One of the many things that Misono hated about gym class was the need to change in front of so many people, especially when a fair few of them seemed to find it necessary to point out his complete lack of muscle definition-which he was perfectly aware of, with or _without_ having a bunch of idiots poking him in the ribs every week. Misono was able to admit that he was rude to others by default most of the time, but even _he_ would have enough tact not to tell a classmate that they looked like they’d just barely lived through the great famine.

Tetsu’s locker was right next to his, and Misono found himself painfully aware of his presence as he began to strip down beside him. He wound up glancing in his direction out of the corner of his eye without his conscious mind’s permission, immediately dropping his gaze and blushing when he realized what he was doing. But the damage had been done, and now Misono was sure he’d be spending the rest of the day trying to get the image of his only partially clothed friend out of his head. If this was how crushes were for everyone, he really couldn’t understand why the general population didn’t place a greater importance in avoiding them at all costs. 

Misono kept his eyes fixed ahead of him, squinting unnaturally to block off his peripheral vision and changing as quickly as he could possibly manage. Once they were both dressed, they made their way onto the basketball court where the class was usually held during the colder months.

“Looks like it’s gonna be dodgeball again,” Tetsu said, pointing towards the large rubber balls that were lined up across the centerline. “This is the fourth time in a row, too...” 

“Why must it always be _dodgeball_ of all things?!” Misono exclaimed resentfully, the last flickering light of hope within him burning out in an instant. “If that lazy bastard of an instructor can’t be bothered to teach us anything useful, then he ought to be fired!”

“That “lazy bastard of an instructor” is right behind you.” 

The gruff voice from directly behind him made Misono jump in surprise, eyes widening in horror as he turned around to meet the gaze of their obviously irritated coach. 

“If I thought you could make it around the court even once, I’d have you run laps for that. Watch your mouth.”

A group of third year boys snickered, seeming to have overheard their conversation. Misono shot a glare in their general direction before stomping off to join the rest of the class in the center of the court, Tetsu following in his wake.

This was perhaps Misono’s least favorite part of dodgeball (aside from the entirety of the game itself, that is). The coach would pick two students from the class, assign them each to lead a team, then have them take turns choosing between the remaining students. Tetsu was chosen almost immediately by the leader of the blue team-and as usual, Misono was forced to watch every single one of his classmates be picked before he was, only to be reluctantly accepted by the red team for lack of any other options.

Far more concerning at the moment, however, was the fact that he and Tetsu had ended up on different teams, and one glance at the aforementioned trio of third year gorillas in the corner made it very clear to Misono that they planned to take full advantage of this. Tetsu seemed to be troubled by this as well, frowning to himself as if he were trying to come up with some sort of solution (Misono did not have high hopes for the success of whatever plan Tetsu could think up by himself, but he appreciated the sentiment). 

“Alright, teams-line up,” their coach instructed, and Misono didn’t have to be told twice. He accompanied his team to the far side of the gym, waiting in trepidation for what he knew would follow.

The whistle blew loudly, and all hell broke lose in a matter of seconds. Misono put his hands over his ears to block out the battle cries that echoed throughout the gymnasium walls, feeling as if he’d certainly go deaf if he didn’t (he’d never understood the urge that some people seemed to have to scream as if they were being murdered for no apparent reason). 

He was targeted almost immediately by the biggest member of the third year trio. A ball was sent flying in Misono’s direction at top speed, missing his head by mere inches before smacking into the wall behind him so loudly that he was convinced that it would have knocked him unconscious. Tetsu was obviously thinking something similar as he gazed between Misono and the ball he was holding, looking at an utter loss for what to do. There seemed to be no way out of this situation, and as the burly third year lifted his arm up to throw again, Misono could only brace himself for what would certainly be a painful impact. 

_WHAM._

His would-be assailant fell to the floor seemingly out of nowhere, clutching the back of his head and wincing in obvious pain, and it quickly occurred to Misono that Tetsu must have thrown the ball he’d been holding at his own teammate.

“What the hell?!” The guy yelled, shakily getting to his feet and giving Tetsu an angry glare. “We’re on the same damn side!”

“Sorry, it was an accident,” Tetsu replied casually, before turning to catch Misono’s gaze and nodding as if to reassure him that he had the situation under control.

The burly third year didn’t waste any time nursing his sore head. Instead, he immediately picked a stray ball up off the ground, poised to throw it in Misono’s direction-but once again,Tetsu whipped a ball at him quickly, and he fell to his knees with a painful sounding thump as it made contact. 

The rest of the blue team, predictably, fell into an immediate uproar upon realizing what was going on.

“You did that on purpose!” one of them yelled, pointing at Tetsu in accusation. “That’s against the rules!”

“Coach, take him out of the game!”

“Yeah, he’s gonna make us lose!”

A whistle blew, and the game came to a halt. The coach put his head in one of his hands in obvious exasperation, using the other to gesture towards Misono’s side of the court.“Sendagaya, if you want to help the red team out so much, switch sides.”

The rest of the blue team watched in betrayal as Tetsu dropped the ball he’d been holding in favor of crossing the centerline. 

“I hope you realize how many enemies you’ve just made for yourself,” Misono said as he approached, noting the furious looks that were now being thrown in their direction by everyone on the other side of the court. A fair few of them even made rude hand gestures at the two of them-out of their instructor’s line of sight, of course. 

“Can’t be helped, I guess.” Tetsu replied, shrugging nonchalantly. “I didn’t think they’d let me switch to your team, though. That’s pretty lucky.”

The coach blew the whistle again, and the game started back up. Tetsu stood in place directly in front of Misono, catching the ball the was immediately thrown their way by one of the third years who had been targeting him and hurling it back, hitting the guy squarely in the chest and knocking him over. 

“Your aim is fairly accurate,” Misono said, impressed with Tetsu’s skills (even if he still very much considered dodgeball to be a waste of time). He picked up a ball that had rolled next to him on the ground and handed it to Tetsu. ”Get the rest of them out too. I want this to be over as soon as possible.”

“Got it.”

They continued on like this for the next few minutes. There wasn’t too much strategy involved in dodgeball, and so Misono didn’t have much to do aside from hand Tetsu any ball that rolled near enough for him to grab.The rest of the red team, upon realizing that Tetsu was hitting more people than the rest of them combined, began to follow Misono’s example, and within a matter of minutes there was only one person remaining on the blue team (Misono knew this one’s name, unfortunately-Azuma Itsuki, a fellow second year who taunted him even more frequently than the trio of third year idiots). 

“You might as well throw in the towel now!” Misono said loudly, sticking his head out from behind Tetsu for just long enough to catch Azuma's gaze and giving him a mocking, self-satisfied smirk. “We may spare your life if you beg for mercy, but I won’t make any guarantees!”

“No way in hell, you pretentious little dwarfling!” 

“ _Who’s_ a “dwarfling”, bastard!?”

“Watch the language, you two!” Their coach barked from the sidelines. 

Tetsu threw the ball with enough force to knock him off his feet, but Azuma somehow managed to dodge to the left expertly, missing it by centimeters. Misono frowned, a new thought suddenly occurring to him. _To the left again? Hasn’t he done that every single time?_

“Sendagaya, are you familiar with the technique pitchers use sometimes in baseball, where it curves just before hitting home plate?” He asked, tugging on Tetsu’s sleeve to make sure he was listening. “Do you think you can do something like that? He always seems to move to the left when he’s dodging.”

“A curveball?” Tetsu frowned at the ball in his hand before shrugging and nodding. “I can try.”

Tetsu’s first attempt missed by a mile, as did the second and third. But on his fourth try, he managed to do exactly as Misono had envisioned-curving the ball directly into the path that Azuma attempted to dodge from what he obviously had expected to be a straight throw. It made contact with his chest with a loud thumping sound, the force of it sending him toppling over backwards onto the hard gymnasium floor. 

“Aha! You ought to have given up while you had the chance, you bastard!” Misono said, pointing at his fallen opponent and laughing maniacally. The rush of victory combined with the adrenaline in his system must have slightly clouded his judgement-because logically speaking, provoking someone who already had it out for him was probably not the smartest thing he’d ever done. 

“You are _dead_ , pipsqueak!” Azuma yelled, jumping to his feet and glaring murderously in his direction. “Hear me? Dead!”

Misono’s victorious smirk faltered a bit, but the coach stood up in that moment, obviously reading into the game’s rapid deterioration into a full-on brawl. 

“Alright, game over. Red team wins.” He said quickly, briefly blowing on his whistle and looking a bit nonplussed over how quickly the situation had escalated. “You’re all dismissed.”

As they exited the gym, Misono made sure to stay as close to Tetsu as he possibly could, knowing that no one would try to pick a fight with him if he did. It was frustrating for him to admit, but until he got stronger (which he fully intended on accomplishing as soon as possible) relying on Tetsu for protection was probably the safest thing to do.

“We may have prevailed today,” Misono began, fists clenched tightly as he passed the third year trio, “-but those bastards will stop at nothing to see me dead in a ditch somewhere, especially that Azuma idiot. I’m sure he’s just jealous that I always outrank him in every subject, how pathetic-”

“-Hey, you were really cool back there!” A first year girl seemed to appear out of nowhere only to interrupt him, and it took Misono a very confused moment to realize that she was actually talking to Tetsu. “You should join a sports team, I’d come to all your games if you did!”

“Oh...uh, thanks.” Tetsu replied, looking rather puzzled. 

For whatever reason, Misono found himself feeling extremely irritated by her words (quite possibly because he felt that if anyone should be commending Tetsu at the moment, it ought to be _him)_ -and as they both entered the locker room in tandem, he couldn’t stop himself from mumbling shyly, “Y-you _were_ a bit cool, I suppose...” 

“You think so?” Tetsu’s reaction was noticeably different than it had been when the first year girl had complimented him (even if Misono’s words probably seemed like nothing more than a half-hearted echo of what had already been said). He looked surprised, but pleasantly so, and offered Misono a smile before turning to open his locker. “Thank you.” 

Misono, as usual, immediately blushed and backtracked on his words out of embarrassment. “O-only a bit, I said! Don’t let it get to your head, bastard!”

“I probably wouldn’t have thought of trying to throw a curveball, though. That was a good idea,” Tetsu continued, glancing to the side momentarily (Misono fought the urge to cover himself as he would if a curtain had been pulled on him in the shower). “We make a pretty good team.”

“Well, if I have any say in it, this will have been the first and _last_ time we team up in such a way. I absolutely refuse to set foot in a gymnasium again for as long as I live!” 

“Huh? No, I just meant like, in general....we make a good team.” 

“Oh.” Misono cleared his throat awkwardly, the distinction significantly changing his interpretation of the words. “Y-yes, I agree...we’re quite compatible.” 

He immediately winced at his poor choice of words ( _compatible_ was far too suggestive, in his mind), but Tetsu merely hummed in agreement, a small smile appearing on his face. 

 

\--

 

The rest of the morning was about as normal as Misono could have hoped for, aside from the stray thoughts that kept trying to steal his focus away from the lecture on Edo period literature that he was supposed to be giving his undivided attention. It was a relief to hear the bell finally ring after fourth period, and he immediately left his class to head to the cafeteria, sincerely hoping that whatever news Mahiru had for him would at the very least take his mind off of things-though he was fairly certain that Tetsu’s presence would make that rather difficult. 

But strangely enough, Mahiru was the only person seated at their usual table. Despite the relative distances of their classrooms, it was extremely rare for Misono to beat Tetsu to the cafeteria (he blamed this on his own rather slow walking pace and short strides).

“Oh, isn’t Tetsu with you?” Mahiru asked as soon as Misono took his seat across from him, frowning in confusion. 

“Why would he be with me? We aren’t in the same class.” 

“I know, but still...you two have been kind of inseparable lately, haven’t you?”

“T-that is only out of necessity!” Misono protested, blushing at the implication of Mahiru’s words. “And he’s the one that insists on following me around at school, it certainly wasn’t my idea!”

“Uh, alright? No need to be so defensive, I’m not accusing you of anything.”

Misono just scowled in response, turning his attention to the meal in front of him. He’d recently started bringing his own lunch from home, which had proved to be a good decision due to the huge gap in skill between the school cooks and his own household’s chefs (perhaps he was a bit spoiled in that regard, but he’d never admit it aloud. He just wasn’t _used_ to commoner’s food). Today they had prepared some sort of fish, probably tuna-the _expensive_ kind, naturally-and the presentation was akin to what he’d expect from a five star restaurant (Misono didn’t go to restaurants very often due to his frail health and a number of dietary restrictions, but he doubted he was missing out on anything with chefs of this caliber at his disposal).

“That looks good,” Mahiru said, sounding rather bitter as he looked between his own lunch and Misono’s. “Better than this stuff, anyways. Curry for the fifth day in a row, and they didn’t even spice it properly!”

“Have some,” Misono said, pushing the box over to Mahiru, whose face instantly lit up. 

Oh, thanks! Y’know, you can be really nice when you want to be, Misono.”

“Hmph, of course I can be “nice”. Don’t act so surprised!” Misono crossed his arms haughtily, trying not to make it too obvious how pleased he was that Mahiru had taken him up on his offer. “The cooks are always making far too much food for me to eat alone, so I can spare a bit.”

This wasn’t _exactly_ true. Misono had specifically asked Lily to tell the cooks to make him a big, exorbitant lunch in the hope that his friends might like to share it with him, but he didn’t really feel the need to let Mahiru know about all of that. 

“Didn’t you say you had news, Shirota?” He continued after a moment, curious to know what exactly Mahiru had been so eager to tell him about earlier that morning.

“Mh? Oh, right...well…” Mahiru swallowed the bite of food he’d been chewing before smiling widely in obvious excitement. “Kuro got a job!”

Misono blinked in surprise, having expected just about anything _other_ than that. The last time he had been over, Kuro hadn’t even been willing to do his own laundry, let alone go out and get a part-time job of his own volition. He was tempted to ask Mahiru if he had held him at gunpoint, but decided against it, as his friend could be rather defensive when it came to other people criticising Kuro. 

“How on earth did you manage to finally convince him?”

“Oh, y’know...gentle persuasion,” Mahiru said, shrugging casually and taking a sip of his juice. “By the way, you never told me how your date went, did you?” 

Misono’s expression soured immediately. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“That bad, huh?” Mahiru gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s so weird that your dad is even expecting you to get engaged so soon-you’re only sixteen!”

“It’s fairly common within affluent families for future marriages to be decided at a young age. I probably would have started going to these things earlier, if it were up to my grandfather.”

“I guess so, but still...wouldn’t you rather marry someone you actually love?”

“I-I haven’t really thought about it,” Misono muttered, uncomfortable with the direction their conversation was headed. Once again, his words weren’t entirely honest, but he was not about to admit that he’d only considered the possibility the previous night upon realizing that he was actually capable of developing romantic feelings for another person.

As if on cue, Tetsu finally joined them, placing his tray down next to Mahiru. He began to eat wordlessly, and Misono and Mahiru exchanged confused glances, both rather alarmed by his lack of a greeting or any explanation for his lateness.

“What kept you, Tetsu?” Mahiru asked tentatively after a moment's silence. “Were you talking to one of your teachers?” 

“Mhm.”

“Right...well, was it something important?”

“Sort of...” Tetsu let his sentence hang, obviously not wanting to answer Mahiru’s question. “She, uh...she told me I’d be held back if I failed any more tests.”

“Held back?!” Misono stood up abruptly in surprise, almost knocking his lunch to the floor in the process. “You can’t allow that to happen!”

“I probably should have seen it coming. I’m not good in any of my classes-except gym, I guess. And lunch.”

“That sounds pretty serious,” Mahiru said in obvious concern, reaching over to tug on Misono’s sleeve to remind him to sit back down. “You’re gonna need to study way harder from now on. Misono’s smart, so he can help you.”

“Don’t speak for me, you bastard!” Misono said, glaring at Mahiru before turning to face Tetsu with a significantly less hostile expression. “But yes, of course I am willing to tutor you, Sendagaya.”

“Really?” An expression of great relief washed over his features, and MIsono couldn’t help but wonder if Tetsu had actually thought there was any possibility whatsoever that he’d refuse to help him (there wasn’t, of course. Misono would have been willing to stay up all night to study with Tetsu-at least, if he were physically capable of doing so).

His reassurance seemed to do the trick. Tetsu seemed much more relaxed throughout the remainder of their lunch period, and the three of them parted ways for their afternoon classes in relatively high spirits. 

 

\--

 

_-Arrange For My Ride Home To Arrive Later Than Usual. I Am Helping A Classmate Study._

Misono typed out the text and sent it to Lily as he made his way to the school library, where he and Tetsu had arranged to meet after the final bell. He’d decided on using the library rather than his own home as a study spot for a number of reasons-most notably that he wasn’t sure if he could even handle being alone in his room with Tetsu anymore-and so a more crowded, public place seemed to be a better option.

However, as soon as he entered the library, he realized that he’d made a slight miscalculation when it came to the “crowded” aspect. Aside from two others (one of whom was the librarian), the room was completely deserted. It wasn’t difficult for him to spot Tetsu, who’d taken a seat on one of the beanbags in the corner that were probably meant for someone about half his size. Misono took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was sure would be a painfully frustrating few hours, and walked over to him-immediately wrinkling his nose in distaste as he realized his seating options included either a beanbag or the _floor._

“Get up, Sendagaya. I refuse to sit on one of these ridiculous things when there are about a hundred free tables!”

“Oh, okay.” Tetsu got to his feet without any complaints, and the two of them walked over to a small table in the corner of the room. 

Misono carefully laid out the materials he’d brought once they were both seated, which included several binders full of his own notes from his first year courses (of course, all of the classes at Mikato Ichinose were substantially more advanced than they were here, but he figured that the basic concepts would still be the same). He had always been a very meticulous note taker-one of his teachers had even offhandedly mentioned that he ought to write textbooks for a living. 

“So, what would you say your worst subject is?” Misono asked after he’d finished organizing his materials, glancing up at Tetsu.

“Uh...I guess my lowest grade right now is probably in chemistry.”

“Then I think that’s where we ought to begin. Do you have your textbook with you?”

Tetsu nodded, rummaging through his backpack for a moment before taking out a large book that looked to be in almost perfect condition-a sure sign that it had been very scarcely used.

“I expect that you at least know what unit you’re currently covering, yes?” Misono asked, and much to his relief, Tetsu nodded again. 

“It’s unit 5. I think we’re learning about moles or something.”

“And do you understand what a mole is?”

“Yeah, I like them. They’re actually pretty friendly once they get used to you. Hugh accidentally dug one up once and we named it-” 

“Not the animal! In regards to _chemistry,_ a mole is a unit of measurement.” 

“Oh.” Tetsu frowned slightly, scratching the back of his head. “I guess that does make more sense, now that I think about it.” 

Misono sighed heavily, opening the textbook to the fifth chapter and moving it in between the two of them. “We’ll start from the beginning of the chapter. Point out anything you don’t understand, alright?”

“...Okay.”

Misono noticed that Tetsu looked slightly apprehensive about this, and it didn’t take very long for him to figure out why. The moment Misono began attempting to explain even the most basic of concepts, it was as if he’d started speaking in a foreign language. Not a single thing he was saying seemed to get through to Tetsu-whose preferred method of studying up until this point had apparently been sleeping with the book under his pillow in the hope that the information would be transferred to him through osmosis (just one of the many scientific terms that he very clearly did _not_ understand the mechanics of). 

“Do I really need to know all of this math stuff too?” Tetsu asked, frowning at the formulas Misono had ordered him to memorize. 

“Of course. Molar-mass conversion is one of the most basic aspects of chemistry.”

“That sounds confusing...” He sighed, obviously frustrated with his lack of progress. “Sorry, this must be really annoying to deal with.”

“Don’t apologize!” Misono barked in response, jabbing him in the arm with his pencil and glaring. “This is my way of repaying you for all you’ve done, so I won’t allow you to complain!”

“I’m not complaining. It’s nice that you’re willing to help me like this, but I don’t want you to think of it in terms of “repayment” or anything...“ Tetsu paused, obviously considering his words carefully (which was still quite rare, for him). “I know you’ve been thinking that this whole bodyguard thing is really inconvenient for me, but I actually really like being able to spend so much time with you every day.” 

Misono blinked, unable to process what Tetsu was saying for a moment. It was extremely difficult for him to believe that someone valued his company so much, especially considering that most people his own age seemed to want nothing to do with him. But on some level, Misono supposed that he had been thinking the same thing. As terrible as this week had been for him at times, becoming closer with Tetsu had made it at least somewhat bearable (and also at least twice as stressful, but that was another matter entirely). 

“T-that is...completely absurd...” He said after a moment, swallowing heavily and wringing his hands together as he had a habit of doing in uncomfortable situations. “Anyways, this is all irrelevant. I won’t allow you to stop studying until you’ve retained at least a bit of this information!” 

Misono cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat, pushing any thoughts unrelated to chemistry from his conscious mind. 

-

They continued on this way for another hour or so. Misono made sure not to berate Tetsu for being a slow learner (or for always reverting back to saying “avacado’s number” by accident, no matter how many times he corrected him), and explained everything using simple words so that he could understand it more easily. Oddly enough, teaching Tetsu wasn’t as frustrating as Misono had expected it to be, even if it did occasionally feel as if he was talking to a brick wall. Despite the obvious difficulties he was having, Tetsu really did seem to be determined to learn the material, and Misono could at least appreciate when someone was trying their best, even if the result wasn’t exactly up to par.

After he’d done as much as he could in the way of explanation, Misono wrote down a few practice problems for Tetsu to attempt, intentionally making them much easier than anything he was likely to be tested on in class. However, even if the problems _were_ comparatively very basic, the first time Tetsu managed to solve one without any help whatsoever from Misono was truly exciting for both of them. 

“787.143 grams of Li2O…Sendagaya, that’s the correct answer.”

“Really? Are you sure?” 

“Of course I’m sure. Your rounding is slightly off, but other than that it’s perfect.”

“I finally got one right, huh...” Tetsu murmured, looking from Misono to the page in front of him and back again, his eyes shining happily. “I really didn’t think I’d ever be able to understand this stuff. Thank you.”

Misono blushed slightly, unaccustomed to being the subject of anyone’s gratitude. “T-there’s no need to thank me-”

“-No, there is. You didn’t give up on me, so...thanks.” 

“Oh...you’re welcome, then....” He replied hesitantly, forgetting to turn away as he normally would to hide his pleased smile. He’d never felt proud on someone else’s behalf before, especially not over something as small as answering a simple chemistry problem correctly.

After a moment’s pause, Misono glanced up from the table, blinking in surprise when he caught Tetsu staring at him with an almost awestruck expression. “...What are you looking at?” 

“Nothing,” Tetsu answered a bit too quickly, which only served to heighten Misono’s confusion. “It’s just...I’ve never seen you smile like that before.”

“D-do you have a problem with it, bastard?” Misono asked defensively, covering his mouth with one of his hands. He felt rather self-conscious upon having attention drawn to something so rare as a genuine smile (one that wasn’t a contentious or self-satisfied smirk, at least).

“Yes...I mean _no_ , but it’s...distracting, and...cute…” His sentence trailed off, and Misono was surprised to notice that he was actually blushing-an unusual sight that he had witnessed before on only one other occasion. Tetsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before continuing in a subdued voice, “Sorry...I dunno what I’m saying.”

Misono cleared his throat awkwardly, a bit disoriented by Tetsu’s strange behavior. “You, um...y-you should try a few more problems before we go home for the night. I have some written out already, so-”

“-I really like you!” 

Tetsu’s sudden outburst interrupted Misono’s (admittedly weak) attempts at changing the subject, his words tumbling out in rapid succession with no space between, as if he’d been physically unable to stop them. An intensely awkward silence followed, during which Misono could do nothing but stare at Tetsu blankly, mouth hanging slightly open in shock. There was really no way for him to misinterpret such a blunt confession, and despite all of his instincts screaming that he must have misheard, he could tell from Tetsu’s intense expression that this wasn’t the case. 

“I-I...wha...w-what?” Misono stuttered unintelligibly once he’d at least partially regained his speech capabilities, face burning as he replayed the words over again in his head. _I really like you._

It probably shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was, considering that Misono had weighed the probability of his feelings being returned in his mind only the previous night (and subsequently come up with a sixty-two percent chance that Tetsu did indeed like him, in a way that went beyond normal friendship). But even so, hearing him actually _say_ it with no buildup or pretense whatsoever was too much for Misono to deal with in a remotely composed manner. 

Tetsu’s expression slowly morphed into one of obvious apprehension when he wasn’t given any further response. “Sorry, I...uh, I didn’t plan on telling you like that…it just kind of slipped out.”

Misono could tell that he was beginning to panic slightly, no doubt wondering if he’d just completely ruined their relationship. He knew that he ought to reassure Tetsu and let him know that this wasn’t true, but it was difficult to come up with any eloquent words when he’d just received the emotional equivalent of being hit by a truck. Even though he _had_ suspected that Tetsu might like him, he certainly hadn’t considered the possibility that he might actually confess-and out of nowhere, at that. Of course, it was doubtful that he’d have taken this any better even if Tetsu had been less abrupt about it, but the suddenness certainly wasn’t _helping_ him process the situation he’d been unwittingly thrust into. 

“I-It’s f-fine...” Misono finally managed to choke out in an unusually shrill tone, barely able to hear his own voice over the thunderous beating of his heart.

“Oh, okay,” Tetsu said simply, sounding very relieved. A brief moment of silence followed, and then he continued in a slightly hesitant voice, “Is it alright if I ask you something, then?” 

Misono hesitated before nodding slowly (he certainly wasn’t about to try and stutter his way through any more verbal responses when he was in such a flustered state). 

“Do you, um...like me too?” He said, before quickly amending his question with “-you don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable.”

 _“Uncomfortable”_ was an understatement. The situation was so awkward that it took every ounce of self-control Misono had left within him not to just stand up and run out of the library at top speed. The answer was obvious, of course-he liked Tetsu so much that it was honestly disconcerting for him to even think about. And despite all of his instincts telling him to do so, lying would certainly hurt Tetsu’s feelings and make things unbearably awkward between them. His only option was to tell the truth, and yet...something about finally admitting his feelings out loud utterly terrified him.

Tetsu was waiting very patiently for a response, but Misono knew he must be somewhat nervous, even if he wasn’t making it obvious. He’d just confessed, after all...yes, he’d _confessed_ , after very likely having spent hours upon hours wondering whether or not his feelings were mutual. It was an incredibly surreal thing to think about. Misono couldn’t imagine being the subject of _anyone’s_ romantic fantasies, and the idea of his friend pining over him in secret was just absurd-especially considering how straightforward Tetsu generally was about his feelings. 

Misono glanced upwards after yet another extended period of silence, only to be met with a subtle but obviously affectionate smile from Tetsu-and just like that, all of his remaining self-control dissolved completely. 

“I-I have to leave,” Misono stuttered vaguely, shoving his notebook back into his bag with shaky hands. He stumbled several times in the process of standing up, his center of gravity seeming to be one of about a million of his brain functions that had shut down from pure force of shock.

Tetsu opened his mouth, probably to ask where he was going all of a sudden, but Misono was out of earshot in a heartbeat, moving faster than he ever had in his life in an effort to escape the situation. He didn’t stop running until his legs gave out in exhaustion, and he wound up collapsing in the middle of a deserted hallway, breathing heavily and clutching at his chest. Of course, he hadn’t gotten very far-his weak constitution and utter lack of athleticism made sure of that-but he had a feeling that Tetsu wouldn’t come looking for him. As tactless as he could be at times, Tetsu did seem to have a fair amount of emotional intelligence in some areas, and would probably understand that Misono needed time alone to process what had happened.

But even so, Misono couldn’t rid himself of the nagging sensation of guilt that was telling him that leaving Tetsu without an answer had been selfish and cowardly. After all, if Tetsu really liked him so much, wouldn’t any perceived rejection be painful for him? The thought of Tetsu getting upset about this, or god forbid _crying_ over him, was just unbearable. 

Misono tapped his phone’s messaging application after a prolonged internal argument with himself, hands quivering as he began to type. Answering something as serious as a love confession over text did seem rather tasteless, but for now, he supposed that it would have to suffice.

 

_-Yes._

 

He jabbed the send button without a moment’s hesitation. Seconds later his phone buzzed in his palm, and Misono immediately dropped it as if it had burned him, letting it fall to the floor with a loud _clack._ He hadn’t expected such a quick response-it was almost as if Tetsu had been expecting his text. 

After another minute or so of nervous fidgeting, Misono picked the phone up gingerly between his thumb and forefinger, inhaling sharply before forcing himself to glance at the message on the screen.

 

\- ♡

 

Misono blushed deeply, flipping his phone shut and stuffing it into his pocket. _A heart emoticon, really....how embarrassing._

 

\--

 

It took him at least another half-hour to arrive back at his house (half of which was spent sitting on the floor in the hallway, in the midst of a mild existential crisis). His driver had been waiting patiently for him in the usual spot just outside of the front gates, and Misono completely zoned out for the duration of the ride, his thoughts an endless barrage of questions with few answers to be offered in return. He had no idea where he was supposed to go from here. A part of him was genuinely pleased about this turn of events-ecstatic, even-but an equally dominant part wished he could forget all about it. It was all so _confusing._

As soon as he was dropped off, Misono walked up to the front door and rang the bell as usual-only this time, it was his father’s secretary who answered the door rather than Lily. This was highly unusual, and the only time Misono could recall it happening in the past was when his butler had contracted tuberculosis and been hospitalized for a week. He couldn’t help the feeling of intense foreboding that washed over him as he stared at Usami in confusion, noticing how she seemed to be looking past him rather than directly meeting his eyes.

“Where is Lily?”

“In the parlor with your father,” She said quietly, still intentionally averting her gaze. “He...he’s asked me to bring you there upon your arrival.”

The dread that had been rising within him grew exponentially, and Misono suddenly found himself overcome with nausea. It was all he could do to keep himself upright-his knees were shaking, and he was dripping with a cold sweat that made his clothes stick to his skin uncomfortably. Just by observing Usami’s body language, it was immediately obvious to him that something was seriously wrong, and there was really only one thing it _could_ be, taking his current situation into consideration.

“Follow me, please.”

Usami began walking down the main hallway slowly, and Misono trailed after her, trapped in a state of numb shock that thinly masked his immense fear for what was to come. 

 

 

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: i stressed so much over this chapter tbh...i hope i managed to keep it kinda sorta in- character? maybe? well...anyways. I need to sleep for like a year now.


	8. Chapter 8

Misono felt as if he were walking to the gallows in chains. The hallway leading to the parlor seemed to stretch on forever, giving his mind plenty of time to hit him with an endless barrage of thoughts revolving around the many terrible ways this could end (and he wasn’t entirely ruling out his own execution as a possible outcome).

When he finally reached the parlor, the first thing to draw his attention was Lily’s slumped body on the couch. His fear for the situation immediately quadrupled-he hadn’t seen Lily in such a visibly depressed state since his mother had died. Misono couldn’t look away quickly enough, focusing his attention on his father instead, who was sitting at his usual throne of an armchair in front of the table. His face looked as if it had been set in stone, and he only barely made eye contact with Misono before directing his gaze back into the cup of tea that he’d been idly stirring, motioning with one hand for Usami to leave the room. She immediately obliged, bowing her head slightly and quietly shutting the door behind her.

“It has come to my attention,” Mikado began in a deliberately steady voice as Usami’s footsteps faded down the hall, “-that both you and Lily have both been purposely deceiving me this past week.” 

Misono fought to keep himself upright, feeling as if he’d just received a punch to the gut. He’d expected this, of course-from the very beginning he’d known that his father would find out about his half-baked plot eventually. But the predictability of this turn of events didn’t make it any easier for him to accept what was happening. 

“Did you not think that it might be worth mentioning that this “highly experienced bodyguard” of yours is actually a fifteen year old with no training whatsoever?” His father continued, his calm facade faltering slightly. “I never would have believed that the two of you would conspire against me in such a way.“ 

“Lily isn’t to blame for any of this!” Misono exclaimed, overcome with a wave of guilt on Lily’s behalf. “It was my idea, I practically forced him into it-”

Mikado held up a hand to silence him. “It’s irrelevant who’s idea it was initially. As an employee of our family, it is his duty first and foremost to ensure your safety. It should have been his priority as much as it is mine.” 

“Y-you aren’t planning on firing him...are you?” Misono’s voice quivered slightly, all thoughts of his own misfortune immediately forgotten. “Not after all this time-”

“A transgression like this is something I cannot forgive. It is only natural that I would relieve him of his duties as the household’s head butler.” Mikado paused, giving Misono a sympathetic look and continuing in a softer voice. “Please don’t look so upset, Misono. It’s not as if I will be kicking him out on the streets. He will remain in the house, just not in his former position.”

“...And what’s going to happen to me?” 

“I’m afraid that I will have to insist that you be tutored at home for the time being. It is too risky for me to continue to allow you to go anywhere without my personal accompaniment. ”

His father’s words rang in Misono’s ears, and he felt his heart drop into his stomach. It was exactly as he’d feared-this would be the end of his short-lived freedom, of any semblance of normalcy that he’d finally achieved for himself. The idea of going back to how things used to be was unbearable. Being confined within the walls of his home, unable to see his friends or attend school like a normal teenager-he truly felt as if he’d wither away into nothingness if it came to that.

“No! I absolutely won’t accept this!” Misono yelled, hands balling into angry fists. It was rare that he raised his voice at his father, but desperate times called for desperate measures-and if he had to throw a childish tantrum in order to win back his freedom, then that was exactly what he was going to do. “I...I have friends at school! For the first time in my life!”

“And of course, they are welcome to visit you here at any time.” His father said gently. “Please understand, I’m not doing this because I want to hurt you, but rather out of necessity. You’re a prime target for criminals trying to make an easy fortune, and the possibility of you ending up like the Shibuya’s son is not a risk I’m willing to take.”

“So instead of letting me live with the miniscule risk of being kidnapped by some nameless criminals, you’ve decided to hold me hostage _yourself_ , is that it?” 

Lily looked up for the first time since Misono had entered the room, eyes wide with surprise. His father’s expression mirrored Lily’s for a moment, obviously taken aback by Misono’s insubordinate behavior and accusatory tone-but he quickly reverted to his previous state of forced composure, sighing in exasperation.

“You’re an intelligent boy, Misono. Surely you can see the difference between those two things.”

Of course he could see the difference. But that wasn’t going to keep him from pointing out the irony of the situation.

Misono turned his attention back towards Lily, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange, offering no words in Misono’s defense. It was unusual that he appeared so beaten down. He had always been one to take all manner of criticism with a smile, which led Misono to believe that his current state was most likely the result of self-inflicted guilt. Lily had an enormous amount of loyalty towards the Alicein family, and probably felt as if he’d let Mikado down-or quite possibly that he’d let _Misono_ down as well, if he was buying this “reckless endangerment” drivel. 

His father opened his mouth to speak again, but Misono decided that he didn’t particularly care to hear what he had to say at this point. They could talk later, when he wasn’t on the verge of exploding with rage, sadness, or some weird combination of both. He turned and fled the parlor to barricade himself in his room, immediately collapsing on the bed and burying his head into one of his satin pillows and trying to resist the urge to scream in frustration-for his own misfortune, as well as for Lily. He immediately decided that first order of business would be to convince his father to change his mind about demoting Lily before worrying about his own issues, since it was completely his fault that Lily was in this mess to begin with. 

Misono frowned when his phone buzzed beside him, interrupting his thoughts. He hesitated for a moment before flipping it open to be met with a new text from Mahiru, 

_-so i had to leave school early today (dont ask why). did we have any hw in calc?_

He stared at the message, knowing that if he answered it now he’d also have to tell Mahiru about what had just happened-which would no doubt be an ordeal in and of itself, considering that he’d probably have to talk his friend out of coming over and yelling at his father on his behalf. Instead of replying, he found himself scrolling through his contacts, coming to a stop over Tetsu’s name and opening their previous messages. Considering his direct involvement in the situation, Misono thought that it was only fair that he tell him about this unfortunate turn of events as soon as possible.

_-Bad News._

Seconds after he sent the text, his annoying ringtone blared with an incoming call. He blinked at it in surprise, not having expected such a quick response from Tetsu-and certainly not in the form of a call. Somewhere in his subconscious, Misono was aware that this would be the first time they’d spoken since Tetsu had confessed, but he couldn’t handle thinking about that on top of his current predicament. It wasn’t as if he could just pretend that Tetsu didn’t exist until he had his feelings sorted out.

“Hello,” Misono said stiffly upon answering, tightening his grip on the phone. 

“Hey. Is everything okay?” 

Tetsu’s voice was unusually soft, and Misono couldn’t help but wonder if he’d already guessed what the aforementioned “bad news” might be. 

“No, it’s not.” Misono took a deep breath, willing himself not to let his voice quiver with anger or sadness. He had to be calm-or at least, he had to _appear_ to be calm in front of Tetsu. “I’m not entirely sure how, but my father knows. About everything.”

“Oh….that’s not good.”

 _Not good_ may have been the understatement of the century. Misono felt as if his entire life was collapsing before his eyes, and he was completely helpless to stop it.

“He’s made it clear that I won’t be able to come to school anymore. And I highly doubt he that he will allow you to visit, either, considering your role in all of this,” He continued, expending a great deal of effort to keep his tone flat and emotionless. “As if that’s not bad enough, Lily is in trouble as well. I never should have gotten him involved.”

“There’s no way he blames you for any of this. Your dad’s just being really unfair, to both of you.” 

Misono knew that he was right about that. Lily wouldn’t blame him, at least not aloud. But that wasn’t enough to keep him from feeling miserable about the whole situation. He’d been selfish to ask for Lily’s help in the first place-he’d even been selfish to ask for _Tetsu’s_ help, for that matter. All he’d been thinking about this entire time was himself, and the guilt it had caused was finally catching up with him.

“Are you gonna try to talk your dad out of this?” Tetsu asked.

“Words won’t make a difference...but I’m certainly not planning to just sit around idly until he comes to his senses!” Misono said sharply, trying his best to exude confidence despite having never felt so utterly helpless in his entire life. “I’ll come up with a new plan-a better one.”

“Yeah. I know you’ll think of something,” Tetsu replied, sounding very relieved to hear him regain his usual stubborn determination.“Tell me if there’s anything I can do to help.”

There _was_ something he could do, Misono realized immediately-something that he would desperately need in the coming weeks of isolation. He knew from years of first-hand experience just how lonely it was being trapped at home every day. The other residents of their household were generally friendly with him, but talking with them was different than talking with Tetsu, or Mahiru either for that matter. There was some measure of obligation involved in all of his interactions with the servants-after all, they were his _employees_ , not his friends. 

“I...I wouldn’t object to it if you decided to call me on occasion, just to check in...” Misono said, a tentative edge to his words (though he knew it was unwarranted, since there was no chance whatsoever that Tetsu would refuse such a simple request). 

“Of course I’ll call you,” Tetsu replied immediately. “Every single day.”

“D-don’t be mistaken, it’s only because need sparse updates on what’s happening at school!” Misono scowled at his phone as he heard Tetsu stifle a laugh. “What’s funny about this, you bastard!?”

“Nothing…just for updates, then?”

“Precisely.”

They were both silent for minute or two. Now that he had said all that he needed to in regards to the events that had just transpired, there was nothing distracting Misono from the other earth shattering revelation that had been dropped on him that day. He and Tetsu _liked_ each other, and as of their afternoon study session they were both completely aware of their mutual feelings. Misono had so many questions, all of which he desperately wanted answers to, but none of which he was brave enough to ask. He didn’t know where they were supposed to go from here, even aside from the complications with his father.

And so, naturally, he chose to hang up without saying anything at all, because apparently a simple “good bye” was too much for him to manage in such a state. _Pathetic._

 

\--

 

Time seemed to fly by more quickly than it usually did, and the first few days of his imprisonment (his father had called him dramatic for referring to it as such, but Misono outright refused to use any other term) passed by relatively painlessly. 

Mikado was still in the process of finding a suitable tutor for him, so in the meantime Misono spent most of his time locked away in his room or in the gardens, reading his way through the remainder of the books that he hadn’t yet touched-as few and far between as they were. Despite the cold shoulder that Misono was giving him, his father had been very kind thus far, and even seemed to somewhat understand his anger (not that it had changed his mind about letting him out of the house, of course). Misono knew his father thought that he was doing what was best for him, but even so, it was difficult not to be somewhat resentful when he was essentially being held prisoner against his will.

Contrary to what he’d initially expected, Lily hadn’t been distant whatsoever, which was an enormous relief to say the least. They interacted just as much as they had before, the only difference being that his position was now officially one of a normal servant. However, this didn’t stop him from going about his duties as usual when it came to Misono-he was still the one who woke him up in the morning and tended to his every need throughout the day, and also served as a bridge between him and his father, since Misono refused to deal with him directly unless he absolutely had to. 

Nothing had changed within the household, as far as Misono could tell. The only real difference was the amount of time he spent immersed in his servant’s daily lives. If one good thing had come out of this situation, it was that he now had a better appreciation for how hard they all worked-Lily in particular, even after being demoted.

Mahiru visited almost every single day on his way home from school. He never failed to go off on impassioned rants about how ridiculous the situation was-”If you would just let me _talk_ to your dad…” was his favorite line, and he kept asking insistently no matter how many times Misono told him that _no,_ trying to reason with his father was probably not going to accomplish anything. But even so, being able to spend time with Mahiru was a huge comfort to him, and his presence kept away the loneliness Misono would have otherwise felt under these circumstances. 

Of course, Tetsu had also called him every single day thus far, just as he’d promised to. They were able to converse fairly normally, and had even started studying together over the phone-but Misono knew that the only reason things had managed to remain this way was due to the fact that neither had mentioned their mutual confession yet. It seemed as if Tetsu wasn’t planning on bringing it up unless Misono did, which was a relief considering that he still had absolutely no idea how he wanted to proceed when it came to their relationship. Friendship itself was still a relatively new concept to Misono, so the idea of getting himself involved with anything beyond that was difficult for him to consider.

Somewhere around the one week mark-not that he’d really been keeping track-Tetsu texted him with a request to call on video (something he’d never considered, likely due to the fact that he hadn’t even known it was a possibility. Misono admitted that his vast knowledge did not include technological knowhow). But he agreed nonetheless, figuring that he might as well use his laptop for _something_ seeing as he rarely surfed the web at all. They decided on a time, and Misono watched the clock like a hawk, apprehension settling in as the minute hand began to near the twelve. He opened his computer gently, pausing to frown as he caught his dulled reflection in the black screen, and bringing a hand to his head in an attempt to smooth down the strands of hair that always stuck out from the top (this was an effort in vain, much to his chagrin). 

“Misono, the fujian tea you asked me to order is-”

“Knock, Lily!” Misono yelled, instinctively slamming his laptop shut and dropping his hand as Lily barged in without a warning. 

“Sorry, but…” Lily paused, giving him a suspicious look. “What sort of website were you just on?”

“I wasn’t on a website in the first place! I...I’m awaiting a call.”

“A call?” He repeated in question, tilting his head to the side curiously. “From who?”

“....N-none of your business.”

“Ah...so it’s Sendagaya, then.”

“Don’t just assume it’s him! I have other friends, you know!”

“Yes, but you wouldn’t be so secretive if it were Mahiru.” Lily said, smiling knowingly. “And you wouldn’t be blushing so much, either.”

“I-I’m not blushing!” Misono yelled shrilly. “Lily, I demand that you leave this instant!” 

Lily hid a laugh behind his hand, setting the bag of tea down. “As you wish.” 

-

The call came about two minutes late, much to Misono’s annoyance (though he supposed he ought to have gotten used to the fact that Tetsu was not a punctual person by any means).

“This thing isn’t working...oh, wait. There you are.” Tetsu suddenly appeared on his screen, waving into the camera of the phone that he was calling from (which was obviously much better than Misono’s phone, which was essentially a brick that didn’t even _have_ a camera as far as he knew). “Can you see me too?”

Misono nodded, very conscious of the fact that this was the first time they’d been face to face since their mutual confession. It was nerve-wracking, but nevertheless he was very happy to see Tetsu again, even if it was only through the screen of his computer. He looked the same as ever-perhaps a bit sweaty and ruffled, as if he’d just been doing something physically strenuous. Misono couldn’t help but stare, despite his instincts telling him that it would be a better idea to look away entirely. He’d sort of forgotten how unfairly attractive Tetsu was. It was more than a little bit distracting.

“Kinda early to be wearing pajamas, isn’t it?” Tetsu asked after a moment, startling Misono out of his thoughts. “Is it laundry day or something?”

“Laundry day is a commoner’s invention!” Misono barked, instinctively pulling his blankets up to his neck to cover himself. “Am I not allowed to be comfortable in my own home?”

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way-you look cute.”

Misono blushed deeply, thinking that it would surely take him him centuries to get used to Tetsu’s tendency to say such embarrassing things out of nowhere. Didn’t he have any _shame?_

“So, uh...how’ve you been?” Tetsu continued, thankfully changing the subject. “Anything new?” 

‘ _No_ ’ would have been the honest answer to that, as boring as it sounded. There wasn’t really anything he felt the need to mention, since nothing particularly interesting had happened in his household, aside from the occasional fight between the servants or the orphans, which he didn’t care to partake in. 

“Fine, I suppose,” He finally replied. “I finished Satyricon. It’s one of the books that I’ve been reading for the past few days.”

“Was it any good?”

“It was interesting, but rather difficult. My copy is the original latin version.” 

Tetsu raised his eyebrows slightly, looking very impressed. “You can read latin?” 

“More or less. I’ve studied it since I was a child, though I still have to keep a dictionary next to me when I read.”

“That’s cool. I’m not that good with foreign languages and stuff, I can never figure out how to conjugate anything...” Tetsu trailed off, staring into space for a minute before his eyes widened in remembrance. “Oh, right-I got my chemistry test back today.“

Misono sat up abruptly. _“And?”_

“I passed with a seventy.” 

“A seventy?” Misono had never received such a low grade in his entire life, but it was an excellent achievement by Tetsu’s standards, so he allowed himself to be pleased on his behalf. “That’s quite an improvement.”

“It’s a huge relief. Studying every night was pretty hard, so it feels good to ease up a little.” 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself!” Misono snapped, narrowing his eyes. “I won’t let you get away with slacking off just because you passed one test!”

“Oh...I guess that’s fair. I’ve only gotten this far because you helped me, so I’ll just do what you say.” 

Misono raised an eyebrow, always surprised with how compliant Tetsu was with him (though he had yet to test the extent of this. He _hoped_ that Tetsu would draw the line at committing a murder under his command-not that he would ever command such a thing in the first place.) 

“Yes, that would be in your best interest.”

Tetsu hummed in agreement, shifting his position slightly so that he was leaning back against the wall. ”So, wanna tell me more about that salty recon thing? I’ve never read any old books before.”

“...Well, first of all it’s _“Satyricon”_ , not whatever you just said.”

\--

Tetsu listened to him go on about the book, giving Misono his full attention despite the fact that he probably had no idea what he was saying most of the time. Misono was rather surprised that he wanted to hear any of this in the first place, considering that he didn’t willingly read anything more complex than manga, and staying engaged in such a conversation must have been difficult for him. But he seemed to genuinely enjoy hearing Misono talk about the things he was passionate about, whether or not he shared those interests himself. 

Misono soon insisted that Tetsu take a turn talking about something, since their conversation had become rather one-sided. Predictably, Tetsu had ended up telling him all about what was happening with the inn (apparently they were doing a lot of repairs, which explained why he looked so worn out) and Hugh, his five year old nephew whom he apparently spent pretty much all of his time around. Tetsu seemed to be very good with children, which was unsurprising considering his laidback nature. Misono could not say the same about himself on either account.

After quite a while of going back and forth like this, Misono happened to glance at the clock in the corner of his computer, shocked to realize that they’d been talking for an hour straight. Somehow, he hadn’t really noticed the passage of time.

“I have to join my father for dinner in a few minutes,” Misono said, not missing the look of obvious disappointment that crossed Tetsu’s face. “He’s rather particular about the two of us eating together every night.”

“Can I ask you something, before you go?” 

“Yes, if you can be brief. What is it?”

“Well, it’s....” Tetsu hesitated, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. He seemed apprehensive to continue, and alarm bells immediately rang out in Misono’s brain-after all, one of the only other times he’d seen Tetsu behave like this before was during their afternoon study session in the library. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.”

“T-that is,” Misono cleared his throat, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment, “...n-not really a question, Sendagaya…” 

“Oh, uh-right, no, I wasn’t finished.” He frowned at the floor for a moment in thought before looking up to meet Misono’s gaze again. “So I know it can’t be right away ‘cause of your dad, but I was wondering if maybe you’d like to...go out with me sometime, like on a date.” Tetsu paused momentarily, and then quickly added, “It’s fine if you don’t wanna-I just thought, since we like each other and stuff...”

Tetsu had managed to keep his tone casual, but it was obvious that he was nervous about Misono’s pending answer. Unfortunately for him, Misono was not currently capable of producing any response whatsoever. If his brain were a computer, there would probably be a huge red “ERROR” sign flashing on his forehead-he couldn’t even process what Tetsu had asked him for a solid minute.

“I-I will consider it,” Misono finally managed to choke out, and before Tetsu had the chance to respond continued in a rushed jumble of a sentance,“fatheriscallingmegoodbyesendagaya.”

Misono slammed his laptop shut, breathing heavily. He couldn’t believe it. Tetsu had really just asked him on a _date_ -and he’d said _maybe_ , like a complete and utter _idiot_. 

It was in his nature to hate dealing in uncertainties, but in this particular instance it was all he could manage. The situation was so overwhelming, so completely absurd to the point where he couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that any of it was actually happening. The mere thought of any potential “date” scenarios gave him butterflies, but he couldn’t be certain whether they were from excitement or fear. 

The question now was whether or not he actually _wanted_ to go out with Tetsu-or more accurately, whether or not he was _ready_ to.

 

\--

Misono revisited the this idea quite a lot over the course of the next few days, and quickly came to the conclusion that he definitely, without the slightest trace of a doubt, wanted to go on a date with Tetsu, and he wanted it to be _soon._ Misono had never been a patient person-it was a side effect of growing up with servants and butlers tending to his every need, coupled with his naturally quick temper. But of course, to go on a date implied actually _going_ somewhere, which didn’t seem likely to happen with his father keeping a watchful eye on him at all times. 

Against all odds, an opportunity presented itself to him in a much more timely manner than he ever could have hoped for, and it was only a week later when his father announced that he’d be gone for the afternoon over breakfast. Aside from business trips on occasion, Mikado did all of his work within their home, but apparently this meeting could only be held at one of the company’s offices. Misono immediately began laying out a plot to escape. Of course, it would have to be covert-none of the servants could be trusted with a secret that went against his father’s wishes, save for Lily. But there was absolutely no way he was letting this rare opportunity go to waste.

Misono was not a particularly spontaneous person, and he preferred to approach this sort of a situation with a solid plan in mind. He spent most of the morning trying to predict anything and everything that could go wrong, and come up with solutions for every single one. But Misono had never been on a date before, and thus every scenario he could imagine seemed too vague, every potential problem too indeterminate. He wasn’t at all sure what he ought to expect from Tetsu, let alone what Tetsu would be expecting from _him._ It was all incredibly unnerving. 

After a few hours fretting, he heard the door creak open and turned around to see Lily entering his room, carrying a large hamper full of clean clothes (he always seemed to be carrying something or another lately-probably a result of his new position as a normal servant rather than a butler). Misono frowned as it occurred to him that he’d probably have to tell Lily about his plans. He didn’t want to make him an accomplice, of course, but there was no way he could just leave without giving him any notice whatsoever. 

“I’m going to be sneaking out this afternoon,” Misono said bluntly, in a tone that clearly indicated that he had made up his mind and was not likely to be persuaded. “I would appreciate it if you would not inform my father.”

“Oh? Where are you going all by yourself?” Lily asked, not seeming too concerned with the “sneaking out” part-which he supposed made sense, considering he’d already been demoted and wasn’t likely to suffer any further repercussions no matter the circumstances.

“I-I...have a…” Misono took a deep breath before continuing, “...a d-date.” 

Lily’s reaction was predictably theatrical. He dropped the laundry he’d been holding, both of his hands flying over his mouth in surprise. “A date? With who?”

Misono narrowed his eyes at him, considering this to be an extremely stupid question-after all, he had accused them of being in a secret relationship on _multiple_ occasions at this point.

“It’s Sendagaya, isn’t it? It is!” Lily answered his own question, smiling widely and practically bouncing in place in excitement. “Of course, I knew it was only a matter of time, I’m very gifted when it comes to predicting these things-”

“You aren’t “gifted”, you’re just meddlesome!” 

“I must say, I think you’ve made a fine decision,” Lily continued, blatantly ignoring Misono’s insults. “I’ve grown rather fond of Sendagaya. I think he’ll be a very good match for you.”

“W-well...even if _you_ approve, my father would never in a million years allow it to continue if he were to find out.”

“That is hardly a good way to be thinking before a date. You ought to be more positive!” Lily clasped his hands together in a resurgence of excitement. “Come on, I’ll help you get ready.”

=

The two of them spent the next hour going through absolutely every article of clothing that Misono owned. He had about a hundred suits that he wore on the rare occasions that his father took him along to business functions, but those were instantly cast aside, since this wasn’t exactly a formal occasion. Of course, he didn’t have any shortage of rarely worn casual clothes either, but none of them seemed to look right-it felt as if he was drowning in every article tried on, and each time he looked into the mirror he caught his own reflection wincing in disgust. 

“I think you might be getting a bit too worked up over this,” Lily sighed, his excitement having given way to exasperation at this point. “Won’t you let me dress you, for old time’s sake? I’m always complimented on my fashion sense-”

“I’m not a child anymore! I’ll decide what I wear on my own, and if you have a problem with that then you’re free to leave!” Misono pointed at the door, not looking up from the two button-up shirts he had laid out in front of him-one in white, one in ivory (a relatively small difference that he was treating with far more importance than it probably deserved). “....Would you say that ivory is a pretentious color, Lily?”

“I thought you wanted me to stay out of it?” 

Misono scowled at his amused smile. “Don’t be difficult, bastard! Is it pretentious or not?!”

“I’m not entirely sure how a color can be pretentious...but I’d go with the white one. It’s more elegant.”

 _‘Elegant on you, perhaps,’_ Misono thought bitterly, putting the shirt on and resolving not to look in the mirror again. He’d wasted entirely too much time scrutinizing his wardrobe, and it was already nearing three o’clock, meaning he had to leave very soon if he wanted to catch Tetsu outside of school. 

“Will you drop me off in front of the school gates, Lily?” He asked, dismayed when Lily shook his head.

“Dodo is back from his medical leave, so he’ll know if we take one of the cars. Why don’t you have Sendagaya meet you here instead?”

“He...he doesn’t really _know_ about any of this yet, you see...” Misono averted his gaze, knowing how stupid he must sound. “I-It’s not like it’s completely out of nowhere! He’s mentioned it to me before, in theory...”

Lily smiled, reaching over to pat his shoulder before standing up. “In that case, I suppose that I can call you a taxi. But you must promise to keep in touch with me, all right?”

“I will.” He paused, before shyly mumbling, “...um...t-thank you, Lily.”

\--

Sneaking out was easier than it ought to have been. The gates that led outside from the garden were unguarded-which was quite rare, as his father was a bit of a security freak-and he was able to slip out undetected. 

Misono had never taken a taxi before in his life. While it was definitely a few steps down from being driven around in a private limousine, he supposed it was better than public transportation (or _walking,_ god forbid). But he didn’t have a lot of spare room in his thoughts to concentrate on the weird smell or ripped seats in the cab. Instead, he spent the majority of the ride fretting over every aspect of his prospective date, beginning with how he was going to ask Tetsu to go out with him in the first place. Of course, the biggest potential problem was that Tetsu could be too busy to spend time with him at all. Considering that possibility made Misono sort of regret his decision to surprise Tetsu with his presence (a decision very firmly based in cowardice, as much as he hated to admit it). 

He arrived in front of the school with ten minutes to spare, most of which was spent tapping his foot impatiently, glancing at his watch every three seconds until the bell finally rang from within the building and students began pouring out of the gates. Misono stood up as straight as he could, eyes scanning the crowd for a familiar face. After what felt like ages, he finally made eye contact with Mahiru, who was followed closely by Tetsu, their faces twisted into twin expressions of shock. Misono didn’t blame them-it was extraordinarily rare that he did something this spontaneous.

 _“Misono?_ What are you doing here?” Mahiru asked as he approached, eyes still wide with surprise. “Did you actually get your dad to change his mind?”

“Of course not-he has no idea. I devised a highly intricate plan in order to sneak out-” 

Misono cut himself off, squealing in surprise as he was suddenly pulled into a crushing hug by Tetsu and lifted several inches above the ground (though he was sure that part was just an unintentional consequence of the height difference between the two of them). Apparently, he’d forgotten that Misono was in fact rather fragile as far as human’s went, unless his _intention_ had been to squeeze all of the air out of him.

“W-what do you think you’re doing?!” Misono yelped, squirming around in an attempt to free himself. “Put me down, you bastard!”

"Sorry,” Tetsu said, placing him gently back onto the sidewalk with a rather sheepish, guilty look. “I’m just excited to see you.” 

Misono straightened his clothes out, blushing and looking around to make sure no one had witnessed their spectacle of a reunion before fixing his gaze back on Tetsu. Seeing him in person again was strange, and he realized he’d managed to forget how ridiculously huge he was. Misono briefly wondered he’d actually gotten _taller_ over the span of the last few weeks (he was still only fifteen, after all, so it wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility that he’d still be growing), but the idea was rather depressing for him to consider.

“So you snuck out, huh?” He asked, continuing when Misono nodded, “How come? I mean, I’m glad you did, but was there anything you particularly wanted to do?”

Misono hesitated for a moment before responding, unsure of how to phrase his next words in order to get the intended sentiment across without actually using the word “date.”

“I-I was actually hoping that we might...go someplace together, perhaps.” He cleared his throat, frustrated with how meek he sounded (he was _supposed_ to be asking him out like a mature upperclassmen, not some shy little boy). “To be clear, I will not accept any answer other than yes!”

Obviously, he had overstepped his target of “mature upperclassmen” and fallen straight into drill sergeant territory. But Tetsu seemed to be amused rather than offended by his demanding attitude, and smiled happily in response.

“Sounds good. Anywhere particular you had in mind?”

“Yes, actually...there’s a cafe within walking distance-”

“Oh, can I come too?” Mahiru interrupted, and Misono jumped slightly in surprise, having somehow completely forgotten that he was there. 

“No, you can’t!” He practically yelled, only to receive a confused frown from Mahiru in response. 

“Why not?”

“B-because….it’s…” 

“-It’s supposed to be a date,” Tetsu said bluntly when Misono failed to finish his sentence, looking as if he’d only realized it himself that very moment. “Isn’t it?”

Misono blushed, averting his gaze before nodding in affirmation. What else could he do? It wasn’t as if Mahiru wouldn’t find out about all of this eventually, even if Misono didn’t tell him (most likely due to Tetsu’s proven incapacity to keep a secret). 

“It’s a...what?” Mahiru stared blankly for a moment as the information sank in. “Wait a second, since….since when do you two go on _dates!?”_

“I-I don’t have time to answer all of your trifling questions!” Misono snapped, embarrassed by the prospect of explaining the events of the last few weeks to Mahiru. “You’ll have plenty of opportunities to interrogate us later!”

“But-”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, you bastard!” 

Mahiru opened his mouth again, presumably to continue his protests, but Tetsu cut him off before he was able to say anything else.

“Misono probably only has a few hours before his dad comes back,” He said reasonably, before turning to Misono for confirmation. “Right?”

Misono was fairly sure that Tetsu didn’t actually _care_ about avoiding Mahiru’s questions, and was likely just extremely eager to be alone with him. The thought of it made his heart race.

“Y-yes, that is correct...so we really ought to-”

“-Yeah, let’s go.” Tetsu waved in Mahiru’s general direction. “See you tomorrow.”

The two of them turned to walk down the sidewalk along the school gates in tandem. Misono felt a bit guilty about being so harsh towards Mahiru, and for having kept him in the dark when it came to the developments in his friendship with Tetsu up until this point-but more than anything he was surprised that _Tetsu_ hadn’t mentioned anything about the confession to their friend yet. It was universally acknowledged that while Tetsu was very kind hearted, he was also rather blunt, and often said things without really thinking them through. Misono had been sure that he would have let something slip to Mahiru after all this time-but perhaps he had made a conscious effort not to talk about it until he had Misono’s permission.

The distance between their school and the cafe was short enough that Misono was able to rely on his own strength without collapsing in exhaustion halfway through. He was pleased to see upon entering that the place was fairly empty, which made up for the hideous decor and pepto-bismol colored wallpaper-he’d always despised crowds, and tried to avoid them at all costs whenever he was in public. The only other patrons were a group of girls from a nearby private school, all of whom eyed them curiously from the moment they walked in, although Misono strongly suspected that his own presence had gone completely unnoticed next to Tetsu (which was greatly irritating, not due to any blow to his own pride, but out of an unwarranted sense of possessiveness over his… _date_ ).

Upon sitting down at a table near the entrance, the two of them stared at each other in silence for a moment before Misono blushed and dropped his gaze, feeling extremely awkward all of a sudden. It occurred to him that they hadn’t exchanged a single word since they’d parted ways with Mahiru, and although he knew that he ought to at least try and make small talk, no intelligent words seemed to be coming to him. 

_‘I can’t even speak properly in front of him after all this time, how utterly pathetic!’_ He thought, his brow furrowed into harsh lines that would probably become permanent by his mid-twenties. _‘I’m making a complete fool of myself...perhaps this wasn’t a good idea after all-’_

“Are you nervous?” Tetsu asked, and though there was no judgement in his tone Misono immediately felt ashamed. 

“O-of course I’m not, I...I was only thinking about what I want to order,” He said, thankful that he had at least managed to regain his speech capabilities-even though they were being thoroughly wasted by denying what was probably obvious to anyone within a visible radius of their table. Tetsu didn’t look entirely convinced either, but surprisingly enough he seemed to have the sense to change the subject. 

“The decorations in here are kinda cool, huh? I like the colors.”

“They’re absolutely hideous. You ought to get your eyes checked, Sendagaya.” 

Misono only barely resisted the urge to repeatedly slam his head down on the table. His usual standoffish, rude behavior was not at all appropriate for a date, and yet it was apparently all he was capable of. But Tetsu seemed to be unnaffected by his harsh words, as so often was the case. Misono had realized very early on in their friendship that Tetsu was unusually tolerant of the aspects of his personality that so many others found unpleasant. This was undoubtedly one of the reasons that they’d always been so compatible-and likely why Misono felt so at ease in his presence (generally speaking, of course, since he was about was far from “at ease” at the current moment as it was humanly possible to be).

 

His thoughts were interrupted as someone cleared their throat loudly from beside them, and Misono’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked up to meet Kuro’s familiar, bored gaze. Of all the people he’d expected to run into today, Mahiru’s roommate had been at just about the bottom of the list (he was, after all, a complete shut-in and rarely left the house unless it was absolutely necessary).

“What are _you_ doing here, bastard?!” 

Kuro raised an eyebrow, pointing at his name tag unenthusiastically. 

“You...work here?” It took a moment for that to sink in, but Misono couldn’t deny what was right in front of him. “Shirota mentioned that you had a job, but I never imagined it would be in the service industry...”

“Yeah. It’s tiring.” Kuro raised his pen to the notepad he was carrying, sighing heavily. “So if we could just get this over with…”

”I’ve barely had a chance to look at the menu!” 

“What a pain,” He muttered, turning to face Tetsu instead. “What about you?”

Tetsu ordered something or another while Misono examined the menu, pleased to find that it was comprised almost entirely of sweets. His pastry chef at home was superb, of course, but Lily and his father limited the amount of sugar he ate as if he were still a small child (though in all honesty, he couldn’t really blame them. If left to his own devices, he’d probably end up living off of cake and chocolates).

“This,” He finally said, pointing at a parfait that had caught his eye. “And this, too.”

“Chocolate milk _and_ a chocolate parfait, huh…” Kuro scribbled the order down, shaking his head in disapproval (as if he had the right to be lecturing _anyone_ on their eating habits). 

“S-so what if I want both? Don’t treat your customers with such impertinence!”

Kuro walked away without another word, paying no mind to his criticism. Misono glared at Kuro’s retreating form and shook his head in disbelief. He wondered how Mahiru had even managed to talk him into getting this sort of job in the first place, since the whole “gentle persuasion” excuse was almost certainly a lie-it seemed more likely that he’d threatened to kick Kuro back onto the streets. But Misono couldn’t imagine Mahiru doing such a thing, even under such desperate circumstances. He was far too kind to ever turn his back on a friend (even if the friend in question was undeniably a spoiled freeloader). 

“So, uh…” Tetsu began, not allowing what was sure to be an awkward silence to set in. “Read anything good lately?”

Misono held back a sigh of relief. Books were just about the only thing he could handle talking about comfortably in such a tense situation. 

“I started reading a french novel by Albert Camus. It’s set in Algeria during a fictitious plague…” 

They continued making pleasant small talk until Kuro returned with their food, setting it down and leaving without a word. The parfait turned out to be ridiculously huge. Misono thought it would be somewhat of a miracle if he managed to finish even a fourth of it-his appetite wasn’t very big, even when it came to sweets. He poked the whipped cream on top with his spoon, wondering if he’d manage to actually gain some weight if he ate these on a daily basis (not that Lily would ever allow something like that, even if it was for a good cause). 

“I’ll go into a coma if I try to eat this entire monstrosity,” Misono said, gingerly picking out all of the cookies that were sticking out of the pudding. “It looked much smaller in the picture on the menu!”

“Yeah, I’m not even sure I could finish that. It must be pretty expensive.”

“It was around five thousand yen. Would you consider that to be expensive?”

Tetsu’s eyes widened marginally. “Oh...I don’t think I have that much on me…”

“Why does it matter if _you_ don’t have enough?” 

“I guess I was thinking that I’d pay, since technically I asked you out first over the phone-”

“What sort of nonsense is that?! Paying for _me_...do you realize how much money I have at my disposal?” Misono asked, frowning and pointing his spoon at Tetsu. “I could buy dinner for both of us at a five-star restaurant every single night if I wanted to, so this is nothing.” 

“Really?” Tetsu gazed at him with an awed expression. “Wow. You’re almost like a grown-up.”

Misono hoped it wasn’t obvious how pleased that comment had made him. He was not used to being treated as anyone’s elder-Tetsu had never used any honorifics for him the way he did with Mahiru, and generally referred to him as “shorty” rather than “senpai”, which had been a constant blow to his ego in the early days of their friendship. It felt good to be seen as mature for once, rather than cute or childish. 

He took a bite of the parfait, happy to note that it tasted like real chocolate, not that horrible syrup that some commoners had the audacity to use at their restaurants. Tetsu began eating whatever it was he’d ordered-some kind of dumpling, and probably the only savory thing that had been on the menu. Misono realized that he’d never paid much attention to Tetsu’s likes and dislikes when it came to food, since it seemed like he would eat pretty much anything that was placed in front of him without a single complaint. He never had a problem with the meals served at the school cafeteria, even when they were occasionally so bad that even Mahiru would flat out refuse to touch them. 

After a minute or so of eating (and barely making a dent in) his gargantuan parfait, he glanced up, surprised when he met Tetsu’s gaze. He felt immediately self-conscious, having been unaware that he was being watched. Was it possible that his face was covered in chocolate? He’d been so careful to mind his manners, too…

“Why are you staring at me, bastard?!” Misono asked rather defensively, blushing in embarrassment. 

“Sorry,” Tetsu said, and then added in such blunt honesty that it was ridiculous even for him, “I was just staring ‘cause you’re beautiful.” 

His tone was very matter of fact, as if it was a statement that was beyond all question and he was simply pointing it out. Misono felt like the breath had been vacuumed out of his lungs. How on earth could he be expected to respond to such a thing? It wasn’t the first time he’d been called beautiful-he’d been praised for his looks as a child, usually by old ladies who would pinch his cheeks and make annoying comments about his porcelain skin (which he didn’t take as a compliment, since it was essentially a visible representation of his vitamin D deficiency due to lack of exposure to sunlight-an unavoidable consequence of being confined to his bed from constant illness). But obviously, such a sincere compliment affected him very differently when Tetsu was the one who’d said it. His heart was practically beating out of his chest, pounding against his rib cage so hard that he feared it might break.

Misono wondered if Tetsu felt the same way around him-he _must_ feel it, to some extent, mustn't he? But even so, the idea of someone getting so worked up over him was just...

“S-sendagaya...for how long have you-” He began without thinking, pausing when he realized where his inquiry was going. 

Tetsu tilted his head curiously. “How long have I what?” 

“I...I was going to ask how long you’ve had…” Misono squirmed uncomfortably, wishing he hadn’t said anything in the first place. “...f-feelings for me.”

 _‘Terrible delivery!’_ His mind immediately screeched in protest. _‘Don’t stutter like an idiot when you’re already asking such an embarrassing thing!’_

“Oh, uh-I guess it’s been….huh.” Tetsu paused, looking genuinely stumped by the unexpected question. “I’ve probably liked you for a while, but I didn’t realize what kind of “like” it was until your dad started talking about you getting engaged and stuff.”

Misono found himself completely unable to suppress the curiosity that Tetsu’s vague answer had spawned. “How long exactly is “a while?”

“A few months. Ever since you got hit in the face with a volleyball in gym class back in september.”

_...What??_

“D-don’t make fun of me, you bastard!” He yelled furiously, standing up from his seat and glaring at Tetsu in betrayal (this garnered quite a few shocked glances from the other patrons, but couldn’t care less about them at the moment). “I was being serious!”

“Yeah, I know you were. I wasn’t making fun of you.” 

Misono’s anger faltered-he could tell from Tetsu’s tone and expression that he was being completely honest, as usual.

“I’ll explain it more, if you want.” Tetsu offered, and he seemed to take Misono’s silence as a cue to continue. “You won’t like this, but back then I was thinking “how is it possible for someone to be so helpless?” I wanted to protect you, I guess...but then we became friends, and I realized you weren’t helpless at all. You’re brave, and you always stand up for yourself no matter how big the other person is. I always thought that was really cool.” He paused, glancing back up at Misono and smiling slightly. “But obviously, I still want to protect you. I don’t think that’s ever really gonna change.”

_Oh._

Misono was rendered completely speechless, his already present blush deepening several shades. He sat down again quietly, unable to meet Tetsu’s gaze-he wanted to tell him how much what he’d just said had meant, but he couldn’t find the words to describe his feelings. It was truly difficult for him to fully wrap his mind around just how completely infatuated he was with the boy sitting across from him. It was a terrifying thing to realize.

Their silence was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone in his coat pocket, and Misono flipped it open, eyes scanning over the message that Lily had sent him.

_-Your father is coming home a bit earlier than he’d planned. Try and return in a timely manner._

“I’ll have to leave fairly soon...” Misono said, holding up his phone so that Tetsu could read the text. “I can’t risk being caught by my father.”

“Oh...yeah, I understand.”

Misono typed out a quick response just as Kuro made a timely reappearance, slapping the bill down on the table loudly as if this was all a terrible inconvenience for him.

“Pay at the register.”

“Well, _thank you_ for your enthusiastic service,” Misono said sarcastically, snatching the check and marching over to the register to hand both it and his credit card over to the cashier-a bored looking teenager who seemed to have about as much job satisfaction as Kuro did-only to have it immediately shoved back at him. 

“You have to sign the bill, genius.” 

Misono blushed, glancing to the side in the hope that Tetsu was still at the table and thus out of earshot. But of course, he just _had_ to be right behind him, having followed him to the register for no apparent reason.

“I-I was just about to sign it! Don’t tell me such an obvious thing!” Misono grabbed the bill back from the cashier, scribbled his name down quickly, and slid it back across the counter. 

They went back to the table to retrieve their coats, and then exited the shop in unison, starting to walk back along the road in the general direction of their school-which was where Misono had instructed Lily to send the cab. All of the trees surrounding them were lit up with christmas lights despite the fact that it was still only november, and while this normally would have annoyed him, seeing that he was a staunch believer in keeping holiday decorations confined within an appropriate time frame, Misono couldn’t really complain about it in this instance. They added to the atmosphere, and he appreciated things that kept away the dark on principle. 

A particularly frigid gust of wind hit them, and Misono shivered slightly, wishing he’d had the foresight to wear warmer clothes. As if he’d read his mind, Tetsu immediately took off his own coat and draped it around his shoulders-but of course, it almost immediately slipped off, as he didn’t have a remotely broad enough frame for it. 

“Oh.” Tetsu bent down and picked his coat back up, frowning at it as if it had betrayed him. “I guess it’s too big...but if you put your arms through it, it should stay up.”

“I don’t need it!” Misono protested, finding the thought of partaking in such a cliche unthinkable. He adjusted his scarf so that it covered the entire lower half of his face, partially because he was completely freezing, and partially to hide his blush.

The cab was waiting for him by the time they arrived back outside of the school gates-and thankfully so, considering that Misono was pretty sure his legs were about to turn into solid blocks of ice. He’d never been very good at handling the cold, likely due to his own complete lack of body fat or muscle mass to keep him warm-but then again, he was sensitive to hot weather as well. There were times in the summer when he couldn’t even leave the house, due to the high risk that he’d get heat stroke and end up passed out on the ground.

“We should do this again soon,” Tetsu said as they approached the cab, though he probably knew just as well as Misono did that this was wishful thinking. “I had a really good time.”

Misono wrought his hands together nervously, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground between them. “Yes, it was...rather pleasant.” 

They both stood there for a moment in silence, until the cold became too much for Misono to bear and he opened the cab door with the intent of climbing in immediately. He turned back to look at Tetsu one more time before doing so-which proved to be a bad idea as he had a sudden, overpowering urge to hug him. But of course, that would have been totally improper, not to mention _embarrassing._ There was just no way he would ever-

“-S-Sendagaya?!”

As seemed to so often be the case, Tetsu met him halfway-or more accurately, about nine tenths of the way, since Misono had only _barely_ made a physical advance on him (if he’d moved forward even a little bit, it had been completely subconscious). The hug was a bit awkward due to their vast difference in height, but it was strangely comfortable, and Misono immediately felt as if he’d been wrapped in a warm blanket, though he couldn’t be sure of whether it was because Tetsu had an extraordinarily high body temperature, or just a psychological side effect of their sudden proximity. Misono realized that this was actually the _second_ time they’d hugged that day-of course, the first had been significantly less enjoyable.

Upon getting over his initial surprise, Misono very tentatively wrapped his arms around Tetsu in return. This was something he’d never imagined he’d do, and most certainly not in _public_ , but the unfortunate fact of the matter was that he had no way to know if they’d be able to see each other again any time in the near future, and he would rather that they parted on a pleasant note. 

“G’night, shorty,” Tetsu murmured as they broke apart again, his tone affectionate as he reverted back to the old nickname (and somehow, Misono didn’t mind it quite as much as he usually did). “I’ll call you tomorrow after school.”

Misono nodded slowly, unable to meet his eyes. He proceeded to very nearly trip over the curb as he entered the cab, quickly shutting the door behind him and slumping against the seat as if all of his bones had been turned to dust and letting out a breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. This all felt like a dream to him. A bizarre, contrived dream, or something out of a stupid romantic comedy that his servants loved to watch during their lunch breaks. His face was stuck somewhere between a smile and a grimace-he was simultaneously happy, relieved, and scared. Misono hadn’t thought it was possible to feel so many conflicting emotions all at once.

 _‘I’ve turned into such a mess.’_ He thought, only vaguely registering the confused looks the cabbie kept giving him. _‘A ridiculous, embarrassing, love-struck mess.’_

 

 

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a dumpster fire and cliche as heck but if I edit it anymore im going to genuinely go insane 
> 
> (also i swear im gonna get my update schedule on track from now on....haa)


	9. Chapter 9

Even if he’d been asked directly, Misono would not in a million years have admitted that he’d spent the last few days barricaded in his room, watching a wide variety of romance films. 

To be fair, he also had a terrible fever, and was obviously not thinking clearly as a result-but even so, there was really no excuse for watching _‘pride and prejudice’_ twice in one week. Misono convinced himself that his viewing of the films had been purely for research purposes, but unfortunately they’d done nothing to ease his worries. If he were to use them to predict his and Tetsu’s relationship progression then he probably ought to expect rocks to be hurled at his bedroom window any day now (which was easily the stupidest trend he’d seen in the movies. If property damage was considered romantic, then Misono thought he might as well just abandon his attempts at understanding relationships altogether).

Being bedridden did have its benefits however, and the monotony provided Misono with plenty of time to come up with a new plan to regain his freedom. His current options were limited to say the least-but at this point it was unlikely that his father could come up with a way to make his situation any worse than it already was. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain, and so all of the risks that he wouldn’t have dared to take under normal circumstances were suddenly on the table.

Misono had been texting back and forth quite a bit with Tetsu, who unfortunately had been entirely unhelpful thus far. He had a tendency to react to every idea Misono presented as if it was the most ingenious thing he’d ever heard. As nice as it felt to have Tetsu’s unwavering faith, Misono knew better than to count on that alone as a measure of the potential success or failure of a potential plan.

He finally decided on a scheme that fit within the parameters of “reckless enough for Shirota to hypocritically lecture me over, but not as reckless as a plan he would be likely to attempt himself.” It was a simple idea, really. He would prove to his father that he was able to protect himself by mastering the art of self-defense. This would presumably require quite a bit of help from Tetsu, who apparently had a history of judo training and had agreed to be his sparring partner. Of course, this meant that Tetsu would have to sneak into their home, which made the plan even more precarious considering the tightened security his increasingly paranoid father had implemented around the household. But Misono didn’t exactly have a laundry list of more secure plans to choose from. It was a risk that he would just have to take.

Predictably, Mahiru had showed up unannounced the moment his fever broke, as if he’d somehow known that Misono was now well enough to be nagged at for neglecting to mention the whole confession debacle. He practically barged in after school and immediately went off on a tangent (luckily, Misono had managed to find the remote in time to hurriedly turn off _The Notebook_ before Mahiru could notice what he’d been watching).

“I just can’t believe it took this long for me to find out!” Mahiru finally paused after about two minutes of nonstop ranting, catching his breath before continuing,“ I had no idea you two like each other, let alone that you’re a….a…” He suddenly blanched, head in his hands as if he were feeling faint. “Oh my god, you two are actually a _couple_ -”

“W-where are you getting the idea that we’re a couple from?!” Misono blushed deeply, the word shrouding his brain in a haze of confusion and embarrassment. “Did...did Sendagaya tell you that?”

“He didn’t say anything, but isn’t it obvious? I mean, you went out on a date!”

All that was obvious to Misono was that Mahiru had definitely not watched a single romance movie in his entire life. A first date and mutual feelings weren’t always followed by a relationship, and making such a presumption could lead to some very awkward instances of miscommunication. 

“It isn’t obvious at all! Don’t you know a single thing about relationships, Shirota?” 

Perhaps it was rather hypocritical to accuse Mahiru of ignorance in an area that Misono himself knew absolutely nothing about, but he wasn’t going to admit to his own lack of knowledge so easily. At least he’d _tried_ to learn a few things from the films he’d watched. 

“So you’re not a couple, then?” Mahiru asked, frowning in concern. “Did the date not go well or something?”

“I-It was perfectly fine!” _By some miracle._

“Oh, that’s good.” He looked relieved for a moment, and his expression turned a bit sheepish as he smiled at Misono. “To be honest, I’ve always kinda thought you two were good for each other. Your personalities just seem to fit together, you know? Like, you can be pretty high maintenance sometimes, and I think most people might get aggravated with that from time to time-but it seems like Tetsu is able to handle it-”

“-What a ridiculous assertion! Where exactly are you getting the idea that I’m “high maintenance” from?” 

Mahiru gave him a dubious look. “Misono, you had your servants bring your _entire bed_ to the inn when we slept over because the tatami were “as hard as a shard of desert rock stuffed into tattered, moth-bitten sheets,” and that’s a direct quote.”

“That was a perfectly reasonable demand! Call me what you will, but I refuse to apologize for having standards!” 

“Right, of course-gotta keep up your “standards.” God forbid you actually experience how the rest of us lowly peasants live for even a single night.” Mahiru rolled his eyes, taking a seat on the chair at Misono’s desk. “Anyways, did I tell you what Kuro did yesterday at his new job? I seriously think he’s gonna get fired this time...”

\--

They chatted for the next half hour or so about this and that (beginning with the many things Kuro was doing to make life harder for Mahiru). Luckily, Mahiru seemed to feel too awkward to ask about the specifics of how Tetsu had confessed, so he wasn’t forced to endure any questions regarding their relationship. Misono honestly wasn’t very surprised that Mahiru was reluctant to press him for details. While his friend could be extremely meddling at times, he was almost as easily embarrassed as Misono was by anything to do with romance or crushes (exemplified by when he had received a love letter from a girl in their class earlier that year, and subsequently became so flustered that he’d voluntarily spent the rest of the day hiding in the nurse’s office).

Mahiru had been in the middle of telling Misono what he’d missed in calculus when his words were interrupted by light tapping sound coming from the window. They both turned to see a large figure looming outside, identity masked by the translucent glass. It took Misono a very terrifying minute to realize that it was only Tetsu.

“Sendagaya!” Misono yelped in surprise, standing up abruptly and staring wide-eyed at Tetsu as he slid the window open and climbed into his room with ease. “W-what on earth do you think you’re doing, showing up at my house out of nowhere?”

“Weren’t you expecting me?” Tetsu took out his phone, and proceeded to read out a poorly worded text that Misono had presumably sent regarding his new plan in the midst of fever-induced delirium. “You messaged yesterday saying, “I need you to fight me, sneak into my room tomorrow night.”

“Fight?” Mahiru’s gaze darted between the two of them in alarm. “Are you _trying_ to end up in the hospital, Misono?”

“Why are you assuming that he would be the victor?!” Misono said indignantly, glaring as he saw Mahiru and Tetsu exchange a glance of combined amusement and exasperation. “Wipe those smug looks off your faces, you bastards! Brawn alone doesn’t determine the outcome of a fight!”

“Did you research self-defense methods, like we talked about?” Tetsu asked. 

“Of course. I am fully prepared, so don’t be surprised when you fall prey to my superior tactics and methodology!” 

His haughty words stemmed from genuine confidence. There was no doubt in Misono’s mind that his newly learned techniques would work, even against Tetsu’s strength. He was determined to show his father that he wasn’t as helpless as he looked (and equally excited to impress Tetsu with his abilities, if everything went as planned). 

“I guess that’s my cue to leave, then...” Mahiru picked his backpack up off the floor, walking over to the doorway before pausing to turn back towards Tetsu and gesturing in Misono’s general direction. “Be careful if you’re really gonna fight him, Tetsu. You’re a lot bigger and stronger than Misono, one wrong move and you could seriously injure-”

“Nobody asked for your advice, Shirota!” Misono barked, ushering Mahiru out and shutting the door behind him. For someone who so often acted recklessly (always for some ridiculously kind reason of course, such as climbing a building to save a kitten), Mahiru sure did like to point out the flaws in _other_ people’s risky ideas. 

As soon as Mahiru’s footsteps disappeared down the hallway, Misono found himself unable to continue ignoring the nervousness that had been creeping up on him ever since Tetsu’s arrival. He was suddenly very aware that this was the first time they’d been alone together since their date. Practically all that had been on his mind for the past few days (aside from coming up with a plan to win his freedom back, of course) was what the future might hold in terms of their relationship-assuming that there _was_ some sort of relationship to speak of in the first place. It wasn’t too surprising that he’d ended up sick when his thoughts were draining so much of his energy.

Misono cleared his throat, hoping that it would somehow also clear his mind in the process. He knew it would be polite to ask Tetsu how his day had been or something along those lines, but small talk had never been Misono’s forte, even under normal circumstances. Getting straight down to business seemed to be an easier task to handle at the moment. 

“Well, let’s not just stand around wasting time,” Misono said, relieved that his steady tone hadn’t made his inner turmoil obvious. 

They prepared for their “fight”-a term which could only be used very loosely in this context-by laying a thick blanket from Misono’s bed across the floor, for the lack of a more suitable alternative. A soft place to land was an absolute necessity, considering that Misono had always bruised easily due to his fair complexion and delicate body. It was a fact he acknowledged with no small measure of bitterness. 

“That’s probably enough,” Tetsu said as soon as everything was arranged, glancing at Misono for confirmation. “Are you ready?”

Misono nodded and put his fists up in preparation for an imminent attack, which to his great annoyance just earned him an amused look from Tetsu. 

“Quit dawdling and attack me already, you bastard!”

Tetsu nodded, then began moving forward very slowly until he was able to grab Misono carefully around the middle, as if he were made of glass. It didn’t even remotely resemble what Misono thought a real kidnapping attempt would look like, and breaking free from Tetsu’s weak grip gave him no sense of satisfaction or accomplishment whatsoever. 

“You’re being too gentle,” He huffed, glaring and pointing at Tetsu in accusation. “An infant could have overpowered you just then!”

“Sorry, it’s just…” Tetsu shifted in place, rubbing the back of his head and looking a bit hesitant. “I don’t wanna hurt you or anything-”

“You won’t hurt me, Sendagaya. I…” Misono fidgeted nervously, dropping his gaze before blurting out, “I t-trust you.”

He knew that whether or not he trusted Tetsu didn’t actually matter very much in this specific scenario. It wasn’t as if they were doing any of those silly trust exercises that were staples in summer camps and elementary school gym classes, falling into people’s arms backwards and whatnot (or so media would lead Misono to believe, since he’d never actually been to elementary school). The words had slipped out naturally. Misono thought he might have subconsciously been wanting to tell Tetsu this for a long time. It was extremely rare for someone to gain his unwavering trust-Mikuni and his father had made sure of that, due to the betrayals he’d experienced from each of them. It was a rather unnerving thing to realize, but Tetsu was probably the only person he knew who had never outright lied to him under any circumstance. 

Tetsu seemed to understand the nuance Misono’s words held, if his affectionate expression was anything to go by. “Thanks. I trust you, too.”

“You’ve mentioned that already on multiple occasions…” Misono muttered awkwardly, blushing in embarrassment. “A-anyways….let’s keep trying until I’m able to properly apply myself.”

Tetsu nodded, approaching Misono quickly this time, with much more vigor than he’d had before. Misono took a deep breath, mentally recounting all of the things he’d learned from his self-defense research. But unfortunately, none of it seemed to make a difference. Tetsu had him pinned to the floor within seconds. Due to the soft blanket and the precautions Tetsu seemed to be taking, the only thing that had been hurt was Misono’s pride, but to be honest, he’d almost have preferred a bodily injury. This whole “self-defense” thing was apparently a lot easier in theory than it was in practice. 

A few more minutes passed with no progress whatsoever, and after the tenth time Misono hit the ground he finally decided that he’d had just about enough of being tossed around like a ragdoll for one day. Despite his initial determination, Misono was simply not used to engaging in such rough activities. 

“Have you ever done any weight training before?” Tetsu asked, offering a hand to help him up. Misono almost burst into derisive laughter at the idea of lifting weights. He couldn’t even lift his _textbooks_ half the time. 

“Of course I haven’t.”

“Do you wanna give it a try?”

“Absolutely not!” Misono took a seat on the edge of his bed, already completely worn out. “These techniques are designed to be used to defend yourself against larger individuals, so strength shouldn’t even matter that much.”

“I think it’d take anyone a pretty long time to learn this stuff. And it’ll probably take a bit longer than usual for you since you’re kind of...” Tetsu paused, frowning in thought as if he were trying to choose his words carefully. “Delicate, I guess?”

“Who are you calling _delicate_ , you bastard!” 

“Oh, uh, I just meant that you aren’t very athletic-”

“I know what you meant!” Misono interrupted, his voice quieting as he went on, “Believe me when I say that I’m fully aware of my physical limitations without having you point them out so blatantly!”

“I’m sorry,” Tetsu gave him a look of such overblown remorse that it made Misono immediately regret his own honesty. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad.”

Misono averted his gaze, inwardly berating himself for making Tetsu feel like he had anything to be sorry about. “No, you’re right. It will take me months of daily practice to become halfway decent at fighting. I should have known better.”

They were both quiet for a moment, and Misono couldn’t help himself from wallowing in the self-loathing that had hit him so abruptly. He had been a fool to trick himself into thinking this plan would be easy. Just like the last one, it had been doomed to fail from the very beginning. How on earth had he ever thought he could overpower anyone, let alone someone of Tetsu’s size or strength? The mere notion of it was ridiculous in hindsight. Misono had begun to wonder if Tetsu was losing faith in him as quickly as he was losing faith in himself-but the younger boy didn’t give him very much time to dwell on it before breaking their mutual silence with a very unexpected question.

“Remember when I said you were the strongest person I knew?” 

“Y-yes, I remember.” Of _course_ he remembered it. How could he possibly have forgotten?

“Well, I wasn’t just trying to make you feel better. I really meant it. You’re tougher than you think you are. Like, mentally tough. Is there a word for that?”

“Resilient?” Misono offered tentatively. 

“Right, that’s it. Resilient. Like a cactus.”

Misono stared at him for a moment before deadpanning, “A _cactus._ ”

“Yeah, since they can survive really harsh weather conditions. And also ‘cause they’re rough and full of thorns on the outside but still sweet inside, so...” Tetsu trailed off, a rare blush suddenly visible on his face as he caught sight of the baffled look Misono was giving him. “Uh, I guess that was kind of a weird comparison.”

Misono felt a strange pang in his heart as he was suddenly hit with an urge he’d never so much as considered before in his life, at least not consciously. 

_‘I want to kiss him.‘_

The thought was so alarming that he stood up abruptly, almost hitting his head on his bedpost and stumbling a bit before regaining his balance. Tetsu stood up immediately after him, looking confused and a bit concerned by his strange behavior.

“Are you feeling okay?” 

“Y-yes, fine! Good! Adequate, rather….p-perfectly normal!” Misono cringed inwardly at his own high-pitched babbling, clearing his throat and attempting to regain control of the situation. “It’s getting rather late though, isn’t it?”

Tetsu shrugged. “I guess so, but-”

“Exactly, very late! I really think you ought to get going.”

Misono practically pushed Tetsu towards the window, making it very clear that their fruitless practice session was officially over. Luckily, Tetsu didn’t argue. He departed the same way he’d entered, leaving Misono alone to concentrate on the disturbing matter at hand-which was the stray thought he’d had about kissing Tetsu. He wasn’t so naive that he didn’t realize that the vast majority of people would also have these sorts of urges when it came to the person they liked, but Misono had long since accepted that he _wasn’t_ normal in the slightest. 

He would have previously scoffed at the idea that he’d ever be plagued with such base desires-all of which he fully considered a betrayal of his intelligence, no doubt courtesy of all the excess oxytocin his brain was being flooded with. Oxytocin had always been his least favorite neuropeptide (Lily found it amusing that Misono seemed to have an opinion on absolutely everything, neuropeptides included), and it had secured a spot on his list when he’d decided it was solely to blame for the impending downfall of human civilization. “Love is a disease,” his twelve year old self had confidently proclaimed to his butler, whose seemingly infinite patience never seemed to strain despite their vastly different opinions on the topic. “The only disease I’ll never catch.” 

Misono almost laughed humorlessly at his own naivety. Oh, he’d caught the disease alright-a particularly potent strain that caused his heart to pound like an uptempo bass drum while he changed into his nightwear, imagining for a single fleeting moment that it was Tetsu’s hands unbuttoning the white uniform shirt instead of his own. 

\--

Unfortunately, the unwanted thoughts didn’t cease in the coming days. Quite the contrary, in fact.

Tuesday morning in particular was an absolute disaster. Misono woke up abruptly, sweating and out of breath,able to recall the contents of the mortifying dream that had awoken him in quite a bit of detail. A new door had been opened in his subconscious, one full of things that wouldn’t have been out of place in the scenes that he always had to look away from in embarrassment whenever they occurred in a film. Apparently the elusive “teenage hormones” he’d heard so much about were actually starting to affect him for the first time. _How humiliating._

Misono shuddered to think that this might be a common occurrence from now on. If it had happened a few weeks ago, he surely would have added it to his mental list of “inexplicable symptoms that have absolutely nothing to do with love or attraction and are probably just some rare virus I caught from school,” right next to the constant blushing, elevated heart rate and shortness of breath he already experienced whenever he was around Tetsu (he knew better now than to believe that it was due to illness, of course). But urges or otherwise, the idea of doing any of the things he’d dreamt about in real life was absolutely terrifying and not remotely within the realm of possibility.

_Just kissing, though...that might be acceptable. In theory._

Misono shook his head. What on earth had gotten into him lately? He didn’t know how to kiss anyone, and the last thing he wanted to do was make a fool of himself in front of Tetsu. Admitting his own inexperience aloud was a daunting task. Misono didn’t want Tetsu to think he was some immature child who couldn’t handle a proper relationship. He doubted that Tetsu had ever been in a relationship before either, but Misono was technically the older one, and despite how irrational it might seem, he felt as if he needed to prove himself somehow. 

He was so desperate for a solution that he almost asked Lily for advice. The key word being _almost._ Misono had only barely recovered psychologically from the time Lily had tried to give him “the talk” at age fourteen, and he was certainly not going to do anything that might provoke another mutually uncomfortable conversation. It was no secret that his butler was a romantic at heart, and had a rather long list of former lovers, but Lily’s natural charm was far from universal. Misono didn’t see himself as charming in the slightest, and he was quite sure that nobody else did either. Even Tetsu tended to use more childish terms to describe him-usually “cute” or something akin to it. Misono didn’t want to be _cute._ Puppies were cute. Babies were cute. Boys his age were just not supposed to be cute, as far as he was concerned. 

As usual, Misono tried to distract himself with books (no romance novels this time-just classics, the more depressing and bleak the better). This worked fairly well while he was awake, but the dreams persisted despite Misono’s best efforts to put an end to them. It was absolutely infuriating-the last thing he needed right now was yet another reason to feel awkward around Tetsu. Misono couldn’t help thinking that he’d been right to cynically believe that relationships were inherently troublesome. 

But even so, there was no use denying that he absolutely wanted to be with Tetsu, troublesome or not. _Stupid oxytocin._

\--

Tetsu invited himself over a few days later, this time without the guise of self defense lessons. They’d both come to a sort of silent agreement to abandon that plan before Misono ended up with a broken spine, or some other injury that would confine him to bed for the rest of his life. He’d come up with a new plan at some point, but Misono had enough things to worry about at the moment. Somehow, he’d actually _underestimated_ how awkward it would be to see Tetsu in person again since he’d fallen prey to this sudden onslaught of shameful thoughts.

After an almost painfully long silence, Misono had tentatively suggested that they watch a movie-which Tetsu easily agreed to, of course. Truthfully, Misono was rather sick of watching movies lately, but he was far too jittery to hold a conversation, and he thought that the distraction of a film might give him a chance to calm down and breathe easy. 

He’d thought wrong.

Naturally, Misono had expected Tetsu to pick a mindless action flick, as he usually seemed to tend toward mindless films full of explosions and car crashes. What he hadn’t taken into consideration was that his queue of “recently watched films” was full of nothing but _romance._ Before he could sputter out an explanation, Tetsu had already clicked on the first movie to pop up in the “recommended” section-which just so happened to be an incredibly stupid romantic drama about a stupid couple doing stupid things. Misono was far too embarrassed to protest the decision, and had thus far been forced to sit through fifteen uncomfortable minutes of the film, his gaze darting from the ground to the screen and back again as he inwardly berated himself for not deleting his queue to begin with. 

Fifteen minutes turned into thirty, and the aforementioned stupid couple were _already_ kissing despite having known each other for a grand total of one day. Misono wanted to throw his television out of the window (and he very well might have, if it didn’t weigh twice as much as he did). Considering how uncomfortable the events on screen were making him, it didn’t take Misono very long to notice that Tetsu was also only sparsely paying attention to the movie. He kept glancing in Misono’s direction every few seconds, and while under normal circumstances Misono might have called him out, he wasn’t exactly in the mood to start any unnecessary conversations. Most likely he’d just end up stuttering and making an idiot of himself as he always did at times like these. Misono envied Tetsu’s ability to stay blank faced and calm in such a wide variety of stressful scenarios. 

A few more minutes passed silently (it may as well have been hours, but the clock on the wall proved otherwise). The movie was totally forgotten-all Misono could concentrate on was his proximity to Tetsu. He looked over every so often as inconspicuously as he could manage, blush deepening when he caught Tetsu’s eye and hurriedly fixing his gaze back on the floor (as always, the art of subtlety was not among his many talents). Tetsu, on the other hand, didn’t bother hiding the fact that he couldn’t care less about what was going on between the couple onscreen. It quickly got to the point where Misono was unable to keep pretending that he hadn’t noticed Tetsu’s open staring.

“S-stop looking at me like that!” Misono said in the most demanding voice he could muster, keeping his eyes pointed at the wall in front of him. “ _You’re_ the one who chose this stupid movie, so don’t blame be if you’re bored of it!”

“You’re the one who wanted watch a movie, though,” Tetsu replied, and Misono felt a vein on his forehead twitch in annoyance despite the fact that it was clearly not intended to be a snide remark. 

“I only suggested it because we can’t leave my room, obviously!”

Tetsu shrugged. “There’s other stuff we can do in your room.”

He sounded perfectly innocent, but Misono’s traitorous mind jumped to something very distinctly _not_ innocent. 

“I-I have some books,” He blurted out stupidly, momentarily forgetting that reading wasn’t a group activity and inwardly facepalming when he realized it. 

Tetsu didn’t respond for a moment. He looked rather conflicted, as if he were locked in some sort of internal debate-which was strange, considering that he usually never hesitated to say exactly what was on his mind. Misono frowned in suspicion. If his memory served him right, the last time he’d seen Tetsu act like this...

_...It was that day in the library, wasn’t it?_

“There’s something I’ve wanted to do with you for a while now,” Tetsu said, a rare but distinct blush on his face as he held Misono’s gaze determinately. “I dunno if you’ll want to, though...you might think it’s really stupid.”

Misono blanched, feeling himself begin to sweat in apprehension. _‘I know what this is about,’_ he thought, his panic steadily increasing. _‘It’s the only possible explanation for this behavior!’_ Embarrassment was not in Tetsu’s emotional arsenal, at least under normal circumstances. Misono couldn’t think of anything else that would cause him to become so flustered. _‘He’s going to ask me to kiss him. No doubt about it.’_

The realization made his heart stop momentarily. Of course, there was no denying that Misono had been thinking about little else for the past few days, but he’d never imagined that anything would actually happen-and certainly not this _soon_. He wasn’t mentally prepared whatsoever. The mere idea of it had turned him into a nervous wreck, and that was when it was only a stray thought, confined within his own mind. But he knew that he couldn’t allow Tetsu to find out that he was scared. Misono was the older of the two, after all. He had to be the mature one, even if that meant faking his way through this whole situation. 

Tetsu hadn’t elaborated on his vague statement. He just sat there silently, picking at the hem of his pants and for once looking very much like the teenager he really was. His mature looks combined with his usual placid demeanor easily fooled most people into thinking he was older. Even Misono sometimes forgot that he was only a first year, just barely out of middle school. It was this realization that finally gave him the courage to speak up, albeit in a tone so quiet that it was almost a whisper.

“U-um, I...” Misono began, his heart pounding so loudly that it threatened to drown out his words, eyes squeezed shut with fear as he continued the sentence in a tiny, quivering voice, “...i-in that case, I….I s-suppose we can…” He inhaled very sharply before blurting out in a single breath, _“Wecankissifyouwantto!”_

A dreadful silence followed his admission. After quite a bit of stalling, Misono finally managed to work up the courage to glance at Tetsu, his stomach dropping once he caught sight of the stunned look on his face. It couldn’t have been more clear that he’d entirely misread the situation. 

“...Oh….I, uh...I was actually planning to ask if you could read a book out loud to me, not...uh, not that.” Tetsu said quietly after a few seconds of shocked staring. “I-I guess I made it sound kind of…yeah.”

Misono had never heard Tetsu stutter before, nor could he remember ever having seen him blush so profusely. He might have found it cute in another setting, but all he could focus on presently was the gargantuan mistake he’d made by jumping to conclusions. Misono was positive that he had never felt so utterly humiliated in his entire life-and that was _really_ saying something, since constant embarrassment was something that seemed to be ingrained into every facet of his existence. He actually thought he might start crying at any moment, which was pretty much the only thing that could possibly make this situation worse than it already was. The last thing he needed was for Tetsu to think he was a crybaby on top of being a complete idiot. 

“...Do you actually want to do that with me?”

Misono snapped his head up so quickly that he thought he felt his brain hit the back of his skull. Tetsu looked apprehensive, almost shy (that was a word Misono never thought he’d have to use to describe him. Tetsu could probably befriend a piranha if he set his mind to it-he was not _shy_ by anyone’s definition of the word). The atmosphere was indescribably tense, and the stupid couple kissing passionately on the screen in the background certainly didn’t make the situation any less awkward. Misono had no idea how he was supposed to come up with a proper answer to Tetsu’s question. He knew he must look absolutely ridiculous-red face, idiotic “deer in the headlights” expression, and most likely sweating like he’d just finished a half marathon. 

The thought of how idiotic he probably looked didn’t do much to quell the unbearable embarrassment that Misono was feeling. And with the embarrassment came the urge to resort to his usual defense mechanism-lashing out at whoever was causing it. In hindsight, Misono knew exactly what he should have said. He should have told Tetsu the truth, which was of course that he _did_ want to kiss him, but now just wasn’t the right moment, and he needed time to prepare himself. That would have been the mature thing to do. It was what the lead in a romance movie would have done. But obviously, Misono was not the lead in a romance movie, and what he ended up blurting out was the absolute antithesis of romantic. 

“Leave!” 

A silence followed his harsh, abrupt demand, punctuated with a painfully confused “....huh?” from Tetsu. 

“I-I said leave! Go away!” Misono repeated, pointing a shaky finger to the window Tetsu had come through (or the general direction of it, since his eyes were now firmly squeezed shut). 

“Oh.” Tetsu sounded very blank, but Misono wasn’t stupid enough to take that as an indication that he was unphased by the situation. He heard Tetsu shuffle around, presumably getting his things together before uttering an awkward, “...uh...goodnight, then.”

Misono didn’t answer Tetsu, waiting for the sound of the loud squeak of the window opening to signify his departure. Once it had slammed shut again, he let out the breath he’d involuntarily been holding, opening his eyes just enough to grab the nearest pillow and hold it in front of his face to muffle his yell of rage. Of course, all of his anger was self directed. He was completely disgusted with how he’d handled the situation. Would it have been so hard to give Tetsu a proper explanation instead of kicking him out like an inconsiderate jerk? Was he really that much of a coward? _Apparently so._ Misono honestly wouldn’t have blamed Tetsu if he’d decided to break up with him then and there. 

_How can I possibly be so stupid with an IQ this high?! I must be the absolute worst boyfriend in all of human history!_

_...Boyfriend?_

The word hadn’t really occurred to him until now, and he wasn’t totally sure if it was even the correct word to describe their relationship-not that it mattered very much at the current moment. Misono would consider himself lucky if Tetsu ever spoke to him again after all of this nonsense. Perhaps he was overreacting, but he couldn’t stop berating himself for being so callous and rude to someone who, while occasionally dense, had only ever been considerate and understanding towards him. Misono had always dealt with embarrassment terribly. No one had ever taught him to respond to such a difficult emotion with anything more constructive than insults, so that always seemed to be what he resorted to.

Tetsu was a rare breed. He was the only person Misono had ever met who seemed to immediately brush off the harsh words that were so frequently thrown at him. It was as if Tetsu knew without needing to be told that these words were empty, rather than an indication of how Misono really felt. But even so, Misono feared that he had gone too far this time. The notion that he might have genuinely hurt Tetsu was unbearable.

In desperate need of a distraction, Misono grabbed a book from his nightstand and began to thoughtlessly devour it, not even realizing that he’d read this particular story at least three times already. 

\--

The next week passed by at a snail’s pace. As it turned out, isolation was much more tedious and painful without a direct link to the outside world climbing into your window every day. 

He knew that he ought to call Tetsu, or at least send some sort of apology or explanation over text, but Misono couldn’t bring himself to open his phone. He was too afraid of what he might see in his inbox. Lily had noticed Misono’s despondent mood, of course, and tried to cheer him up to no avail. There was really nothing he could do. Misono was in no mood to talk about what had happened, and he spent the vast majority of his time locked away in his room. He was quickly running out of reading material. Misono made a mental note to ask Lily to buy at least a few cartloads worth of books the next time he went into town.

Misono stayed in his pajamas for the greater part of the week. On Monday morning he decided to break the cycle and dress himself properly for no particular reason. Perhaps it was a premonition on some level, but he certainly hadn’t expected his father to show up at his door as he was adjusting his collar, standing in the threshold and staring at him wordlessly for a moment before speaking.

“Change out of that.” He gestured vaguely at Misono, who frowned down at his attire in confusion.

“What’s wrong with my clothes? We aren’t expecting company, are we?”

Mikado shook his head. “No. I just assumed that you’d rather not get sent home for being out of uniform.”

_...Out of uniform?_

It took Misono a minute to fully comprehend the implication of his father’s words, and his eyes widened in unparalleled shock once he finally understood. 

“Are you serious?” Misono asked frantically, crossing the room in an instant so that he faced his father directly. “You’re...you’re letting me go to school today?”

“For the time being,” Mikado said, though Misono noticed that he certainly didn’t look happy about it. “I have been unable to locate you a suitable tutor for you thus far, and I wouldn’t want you to get behind in your studies. I thought you’d be pleased to hear the news.”

Misono wasn’t just _pleased_ with the news-he was completely overjoyed. It had been months now since he’d been to school, after all. Being told he was allowed to go back after all this time felt like a dream. He even subtly pinched himself just to be absolutely sure, hiding an ecstatic smile as a sharp jolt of pain proved that he was indeed awake. 

“But you are to come straight home after school every day,” Mikado continued firmly in a strict tone. “No wandering off campus or going into town without my personal accompaniment. Understand?”

“Yes, of course,” Misono replied without a moment’s hesitation. “I swear that I will not betray your trust!”

Mikado sighed in resignation, as if he’d hoped that Misono would put up a fight, if only to give him a reason to reconsider his decision. He spared another look in Misono’s direction before stepping into the hallway and shutting the door quietly behind him. Misono collapsed onto his bed in combined shock and relief once his father’s echoing footsteps had disappeared, lying there for a moment in a haze of happiness before jumping to his feet again and stripping out of his clothes to replace them with his school uniform, which had been collecting dust in his closet for the past few weeks. He examined himself in the mirror, smiling slightly in approval. The uniform didn’t fit him perfectly, but he never felt more comfortable than when he had it on.

\--

Misono couldn’t remember having ever been so happy to enter a school gymnasium in his entire life. 

Even seeing that his classmates were busy setting up for a basketball scrimmage didn’t seem to dampen his mood. _‘At least it’s not dodgeball’,_ he thought optimistically, putting aside the fact that basketball was not a very good sport for short people. ‘ _Sendagaya is tall. He’s probably excellent at it.’_

Speaking of which...Misono scanned the crowd for a moment before spotting Tetsu on the far corner hauling out a rack full of basketballs from the storage closet, his white t-shirt stretched across his muscles in a way that was far too distracting to be considered school appropriate. Misono blushed and looked away, feeling suddenly nervous. The last time they were together had been nothing short of a total disaster. Was it possible that Tetsu wouldn’t be happy to see him?

Misono didn’t have to ponder it for very long. Barely a minute passed before Tetsu happened to look up and spot him from across the basketball court, doing a rather comical double take in surprise. The second they made eye contact, Tetsu quite literally dropped what he was doing (the rack hit the wall with a thud, basketballs scattering everywhere) and ran across the gym him at full speed, as if they’d been separated for years rather than a mere week or two. Misono froze in place as he approached, expecting to be greeted with a crushing hug. To his surprise, Tetsu actually stopped himself before they collided, his excited expression faltering slightly, as if he was worried that Misono wouldn’t respond to his affection. _‘That’s to be expected,’_ Misono thought with a stab of guilt. _‘I’ve been ignoring him all week, after all.’_

For once, he knew exactly what he had to do. Words just weren’t going to cut it this time. Misono took matters into his own hands, initiating the hug that Tetsu was obviously holding back-or doing his very best to initiate it, at least. Their height difference ensured that Misono could only really wrap his arms around his torso. The top of his head didn’t even reach Tetsu’s chest, which was sort of pathetic, like a child hugging an adult. But it certainly didn’t seem to bother Tetsu, who almost immediately reciprocated by lifting him up and squeezing him tightly in return. Misono didn’t complain this time, despite the slight physical discomfort. In fact, he wasn’t even too bothered that they had their entire class as an audience, which normally would have embarrassed him beyond belief. None of it seemed to matter at the current moment. He and Tetsu were together again, and that was all Misono cared about. 

“You’re here,” Tetsu said breathlessly once he’d set Misono back on his feet, looking ridiculously overjoyed. 

“I am. For now, at least,” Misono replied, an awkward smile on his flushed face. The smile Tetsu gave him in return was so brilliant that for a brief but happy moment, Misono forgot that anyone else even existed. 

“What a touching reunion,” Azuma drawled, rudely bringing them both back to earth. “I guess you’ve been upgraded from bodyguard to boyfriend, huh?”

Tetsu nodded, as if he didn’t even realize that Azuma was trying to insult them. “Yeah, we’re a couple now.”

Azuma blanched and Misono’s face lit up red as whispers immediately broke out amongst everyone who was within earshot. Tetsu didn’t seem bothered at all, as expected-but Misono was surprised to find that he wasn’t very upset either, or not nearly as much as he probably ought to have been. As private a person as he was, he couldn’t help but revel in the upset looks on a few of the first year girls faces as the news sunk in that Tetsu was officially off the market. ‘ _Yes, that’s right,’_ He thought haughtily, a smug smile threatening to creep across his face. _‘Weep, for none of you have a sliver of a chance anymore!’_

The coach’s whistle blew loudly, interrupting his petty thoughts. “What’s the commotion over there? Unless someone’s passed out then get your asses back on the court!” 

Misono’s expression soured immediately. The idea of playing basketball with Azuma and the rest of these idiots was perhaps the only thing that could have possibly made him wish that he was at home again.

“Don’t worry,” Tetsu said reassuringly, as if he’d read Misono’s mind. “I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt.”

“I-I don’t need you to protect me, bastard…” Misono mumbled out of habit, blushing as he followed his words by grabbing Tetsu’s hand for a moment in the hope that it conveyed his intended sentiment of _‘Despite my protests, I do in fact need protection in this specific instance. Don’t let Azuma get within a three yard radius of me.’_

Tetsu smiled and squeezed his hand gently before letting go. He understood the true meaning of Misono’s words perfectly. He always did. 

\--

The news of their relationship spread around the school like a virus. Misono heard a few more people lamenting over the fact that Tetsu was no longer single, as well as a very rude individual in his class who loudly proclaimed “I can’t believe that purple gnome got a boyfriend before me”, much to everyone except Misono’s amusement. It was all very surreal. Frankly, he had no idea why anyone was interested in the first place.

“Well, that’s not a surprise,” Mahiru said at lunch when Misono complained about the stares. “I mean, Tetsu is pretty well liked whereas you’re kind of infamous-no offence-so people are probably really shocked that you two ended up as a couple.”

Misono blushed at the word “couple” but persisted. “Being the subject of every idiot in school’s trite gossip is infuriating! I will not stand for-”

“Yeah, sorry about all that,” Tetsu interrupted guiltily as he placed his tray down, having just arrived at the table. Fumbling in surprise, Misono bit his tongue instead of the apple he’d been about to eat, wincing and managing to stifle the cry of pain that threatened to pass his lips. “I should have asked you before telling anyone.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize!” Misono said immediately, waving his hand in dismissal. “I-It’s not as if I’m ashamed that we’re a….u-um, a.....c-cou...” 

“ _Anyways,_ ” Mahiru rolled his eyes at Misono’s sudden change of tune. “I should warn you that Sakuya is having a field day with this. He thinks it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard.”

“There’s nothing funny about it!” Misono barked, stabbing a brussel sprout with his fork in anger and pointing it at Mahiru. “Mark my words, if that bastard so much as breathes in our direction, I’ll….I’ll….Sendagaya will send him to the infirmary!”

The brussel sprout flew off the fork he’d been waving around without thinking, falling straight into Mahiru’s cup and causing half of his drink to spill onto the table. Mahiru sighed in exasperation as he fished it out, a resigned look on his face.

“Honestly, Misono...between you and Kuro I really doubt I’m gonna survive this school year.”

Misono pounded his small fist on the table, highly offended. “How dare you compare me to that freeloader! What have I done to deserve this blasphemy?!”

“This might be news to you, but you’re kind of stressful to be around sometimes!” 

“Oh, how ridiculous!” Misono paused, his tone suddenly changing to one of poorly hidden concern. “You are doing alright in general, though, aren’t you Shirota?”

“By some miracle, yeah.” Mahiru’s creased brow had smoothed, and he was looking like his usual cheerful self again. “It’s nice of you to ask. You really do worry about me just as much as I worry about you, huh?”

“W-well, obviously!” Misono said, blushing and crossing his arms haughtily. “We’re f-friends, after all!” 

Mahiru gave him the same brilliant smile that Misono had instantly fallen for from the moment they’d met. He thought that he might have even had a slight crush on Mahiru back then-a friendship crush, perhaps, if that was something that existed. After all, he’d never been close to anyone his own age before Mahiru had come crashing into his life like a comet, radiating light and warmth and shaking him to his core.

_‘All in the past,’_ Misono thought, as he turned to see Tetsu openly staring at him with a look of pure adoration on his face. _‘Friendship is a wonderful thing, but love...well, that’s an entirely new experience.’_

 

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why am i such a cheesy idiot why is everything i write so embarrassing
> 
> Ok FIRST OF ALL I’M SORRY FOR THE LONG UNANNOUNCED HIATUS. I didn’t plan for it but it just kind of...happened. Between writers block and then thinking everything I do end up writing is garbage it’s been hard to be productive. I;m still not even close to happy with this and i totally rushed the second half (which is probably obvious rip) but I’ve done all I can and if I rewrite a single thing one more time I’m legit gonna go nuts. Also I proofread this after not sleeping for the whole night so it's probs full of mistakes but I'll fix em tomorrow or something bc if I don't upload this now I probably never will.
> 
> After this chapter it probably seems like the plot is resolved (i know….what plot lmao) but some Shit’s gonna go down next chapter. Probably. There’s like 2 more chapters to go I think. Slow burn city is heating up finally.
> 
> ANYWAYS. If anyone is still reading this story after all this time...holy moly you must be dedicated. THANK YOU. Sorry I’m such an incurable procrastinator.


	10. Chapter 10

Much to Misono’s surprise, Tetsu’s unplanned announcement in gym class hadn’t really affected his school life in one way or another. Their peers, while initially quite interested in the development, quickly moved on to the next subject of gossip (apparently one of the senior girls had been caught printing out cheat sheets and selling them. Misono couldn’t help but feel a bit grateful for the distraction her sudden expulsion had caused amongst their classmates). 

The official status of their relationship aside, his interactions with Tetsu were pretty much the same as they'd always been, although Misono suspected that this might be due to the fact that they weren’t spending much time together-not by choice, of course, but by circumstance. Getting together outside of school obviously wasn’t an option at the moment. Misono knew his father would never let him go on a date, even if he called it something like a “friendship outing.” Straight to school and then straight home had been the deal, and Misono didn’t want to push his luck by complaining or asking for extra favors. For now, he supposed it was good enough just to be back in school.

Perhaps the only thing Misono had definitely not missed during his absence was gym class, which had been particularly brutal the first monday after his return. Their sadist of a coach had them play a full court basketball scrimmage without a proper referee to mitigate what inevitably devolved into utter chaos. Misono didn’t understand how a stupid game was all it took to suddenly turn normal teenage boys into a mess of hyper-competitive neanderthals guided solely by instinct and testosterone. Trying to participate (not that Misono really was trying very hard-in fact, he spent most of the game hiding behind Tetsu) felt like being stuck in the middle of a warzone.

“That was kind of an intense game,” Tetsu said as they exited the gym, still drenched in sweat from spending a full hour protecting Misono from a constant string of “accidental” fouls from Azuma.

“ _Intense_ is an understatement,” Misono grumbled, trying not to remember the numerous near-death experiences he’d had in the past hour alone. “I'm surprised nobody was killed.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone that died playing dodgeball. I guess it’s possible.” He paused for a moment before abruptly changing the subject. “D’you wanna walk home together today?” 

Misono blushed at the imagery that forced its way into his mind’s eye-the two of them walking side by side, holding hands like a real couple. Tetsu was always suggesting outlandish things like this, despite being fully aware of the limitations of their situation. Constantly having to turn him down was sort of depressing.

“Walking isn’t one of my preferred methods of transportation, as you know very well. Besides, my father would never allow it.”

“Maybe he’ll change his mind,” Tetsu continued hopefully, following Misono to his locker rather than heading in the direction of his next class. “If no one else gets kidnapped anytime soon, he won’t have much of a reason to worry, right?”

Misono sighed, wishing he possessed even a fraction of Tetsu’s seemingly endless optimism.

“You’re assuming that my father is capable of rational thought when it comes to my safety. Trust me, as long as he has even the slightest suspicion that I may be in danger, nothing will change.”

Misono felt a pang of guilt at the crestfallen expression that crossed Tetsu’s face. Perhaps he just should have kept his pessimism (though he preferred the term “realism”) to himself. But it felt wrong to give Tetsu any false hope about their predicament. This was their reality for the time being-and Misono had to remind himself once again that things could be much, much worse.

 

\--

As for Misono’s home life, everything was more or less the same as it had been before the kidnapping paranoia had set in. Lily had been particularly annoying lately (though this was far from unexpected), and kept bombarding Misono with questions the second they were alone-things like “how is Sendagaya doing?” and “are you two spending a lot of time together?” Lily loved hearing about how their relationship was going, even if all Misono was willing to offer him were sparse, one-word answers.

In all honesty, Misono didn’t really even _know_ how their relationship was going. He had no basis of comparison, aside from the useless romance movies he’d binge watched when he was sick. There was no doubt that his father’s interference was really putting a damper on their progress, but Misono was having trouble coming up with a plan to weasel around his father’s strict rules. It seemed as if he had thoroughly burnt out his capacity for scheming.

Oddly enough, it was Mahiru who first offered a possible solution to their predicament in a random statement that Wednesday at lunch.

“I think you should introduce Tetsu to your dad properly, Misono.”

Misono choked on his drink in surprise, sputtering in between gasps, “W-what? Are you out of your mind, Shirota?!”

“I’m serious! Your dad needs to stop thinking of him only as your co-conspirator. It could be really effective if you do it right.”

“About as effective as using gasoline as a fire suppressant!” Misono pounded his fist on the table for emphasis, causing his water bottle to very nearly spill over. “It’s a ludicrous idea! Do you really expect me to just march up to my father and introduce Sendagaya as….u-um, as my…”

“You don’t have to be that specific. Just say he's your friend.”

“Even so, it’s far too reckless!”

“Yeah, it’s reckless...but you’ve come up with some reckless plans yourself within the last few months, haven't you? What makes my idea any worse than all the other stuff you've tried?”

Misono couldn't deny that Mahiru had a point, and he reluctantly allowed himself to consider the idea. It went without saying that introducing Tetsu to his father (or re-introducing him, rather) was risky. Misono couldn’t rule out the possibility that Mikado would shoot Tetsu on sight if he so much as set foot on their property. His father did not own any guns as far as he knew, but Misono wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a secret arsenal full of weapons to “protect” him somewhere in their mansion. 

“I-I suppose I'll think about it...” he murmured after a long pause, concentrating on opening the chocolate cake he’d packed and hoping that Mahiru would drop the subject. 

“Is that all you brought?” Mahiru frowned, eyeing his plate in disapproval. “it’s not healthy to just eat sweets for lunch, y’know.”

“What I eat is none of your business!” Misono snapped, taking a bite of cake in defiance. “How many times must I tell you to stop mothering me?” 

“Now you’re being a hypocrite. You tell me my lunch is disgusting almost every single day!”

“It isn’t only your lunch, it’s the cafeteria food in general. Utterly revolting.”

“Most of their stuff tastes good to me,” Tetsu said with a shrug, pushing his clean plate in front of him as if to prove his point. Misono wrinkled his nose in disgust. 

“Bring your own lunch from now on, Sendagaya. The food here is not fit for human consumption!“

“Man, you’ve got a more serious case of bratty rich kid syndrome than I thought,” Sakuya cut in from behind his back, having apparently caught the last snippets of their argument. He took a seat next to Mahiru, grinning in a way that made Misono want to throw shove the remainder of his cake right in his stupid face. “I mean seriously, how do you even survive in the real world? You act like such a spoiled little princess.”

“You’re not welcome at this table, bastard!” Misono yelped, pointing his butter knife at Sakuya threateningly. “Go eat on the floor like the barbarian you are!”

Sakuya looked like he was trying not to burst into laughter as he gave Misono a mocking half-bow. “Right away, your majesty.”

“Don’t tease him, Sakuya,” Mahiru sighed in exasperation, sparing Misono the need to sputter through the cornucopia of insults he had in mind. “Or save it for later, if you have to. All this bickering is starting to give me a headache.”

“You’ve got a headache?” Sakuya’s demeanor changed very quickly from amusement to concern. He put a hand up to Mahiru’s forehead, presumably to check his temperature. “You feel a little warm. Want me to take you to the nurse?”

Mahiru gave him a weary smile. “Thanks, but I think I’ll be fine. I’m just a little tired.”

“Tired, huh?” Sakuya frowned and lowered his voice a bit before asking, “Is Kuro keeping you up with his nightmares again?”

“Yeah...they're becoming really frequent lately. I don't know what to do about it.”

Misono frowned, looking between the two of them with a sour expression on his face. Mahiru had never told him anything about Kuro having nightmares. The fact that Sakuya knew things about Mahiru’s life that Misono didn’t was oddly distressing. _What exactly does Shirota find so appealing about that stupid leprechaun, anyways? He doesn’t seem very trustworthy to me...._

Mahiru and Sakuya kept talking in a quiet voice, completely forgetting about the two other people seated at the table. Much of what they said was drowned out by the hundreds of different conversations echoing throughout the cafeteria that ruined the potential for eavesdropping.Misono huffed in irritation and turned his attention back to Tetsu instead, who was now drinking milk out of a carton sold at the cafeteria that had probably expired before either of them were born. 

“I meant it when I said you ought to bring your own lunch from home, Sendagaya,” Misono said, wincing at the thought of all the bacteria that could be lurking in such cheap, unregulated products. “This prison slop can’t be good for your health.”

“I guess not, but my parents don’t really have time to pack me anything. And I’m not allowed in the kitchen, cuz there’s always people cooking for guests and stuff.”

“I see.” Misono frowned for a moment in thought, perking up when an idea occurred to him (needless to say, he didn't think it through as much as he ought to have). “In that case, I will bring lunch for you from now on.”

Tetsu blinked at him in surprise for a moment, a faint blush appearing on his face. “You….uh, really?”

Misono immediately turned a shade of deep scarlet once he realized how Tetsu had interpreted his offer. He certainly hadn't meant to imply that he’d be _making_ lunch for him. That was nothing more than a trope that Misono had seen countless times in high school tv romances-girls shyly giving homemade bento boxes to their crushes before scurrying away in embarrassment. It was a downright stupid cliche, the kind that he’d never have considered partaking in.

But now that he’d brought it up, Misono didn’t really have much of a choice. Tetsu looked so inordinately happy that it would have been downright heartless to retract his offer. One would think that he was on his deathbed and Misono had just offered to donate a kidney to save his life. 

“Um, you...y-you’ll have to tell me what your likes and dislikes are when it comes to food,” he murmured shyly after a moment’s silence, moving the remainder of his cake around the plate with his fork to avoid meeting Tetsu’s eyes. ”Be specific, or I might end up making something you hate by mistake.”

“There’s no way I would hate anything you made for me.”

Misono’s blush deepened, and he took a gigantic bite of cake to avoid having to respond to such an embarrassing statement (incidentally, the cake had been made by one of his household chefs for dessert the previous night. Misono didn’t even make his _own_ lunches). He had no experience with cooking whatsoever, but he couldn’t imagine that it would be very difficult. Following a recipe wasn’t exactly rocket science. There was absolutely no way he’d be defeated by something as simple as food preparation.

\--

Cooking, as it turned out, was not among Misono’s natural talents.

He was in the kitchen for almost five hours total that night. By five o’clock he’d burned his way through about two pounds of rice, a cartload of vegetables, and various meats and fish as he attempted to put together something remotely edible. But the harder he tried to get the recipes right, the worse his final creations seemed to turn out. He kept overcooking and undercooking dish after dish like clockwork until he was a sweaty, worn out mess, barely able to lift a spoon in his exhaustion. 

When seven o'clock hit with no significant progress, Misono begrudgingly decided to use his last resort. He knew that Mahiru was a decent cook, by commoner’s standards. The excuse he gave his friend was that he was just “practicing” and needed some tips, and luckily for him, Mahiru didn't ask too many questions, and spent the next hour or so talking Misono through various failed attempts at making peasant dishes that were much more complicated than he would have ever expected. Misono wasn’t used to having to work this hard to master a skill. He was usually a quick learner (with the obvious exception of sports).

It was incredibly disheartening when the clock approached eight and he still had nothing particularly impressive to show for his efforts. But being the stubborn person that he was, Misono refused to show up empty handed. He boxed up the most salvageable of his “creations” the next morning, which happened to be a couple of misshapen rice balls. 

Onigiri weren’t exactly the type of restaurant-class gourmet food he had been hoping to produce, but the recipe was simple enough that he hadn’t completely ruined the ingredients. At the very least, he was quite sure that they were edible-which was more than he could say for the poison they served at the school cafeteria. Not that “better than the cafeteria food” was a very high bar to set. Misono was a perfectionist under normal circumstances, but for now his sloppily made onigiri would just have to suffice. 

After a restless night full of school-oriented stress dreams, Misono spent the entirety of the next morning fretting over whether or not Tetsu would like what he’d made. Of course, this was an objectively ridiculous thing to be concerned over, since Tetsu had been perfectly happy to eat the literal garbage that the cafeteria served and presumably did not possess any working tastebuds whatsoever. Misono was ashamed to have let himself dwell on such useless matters in class when he had a test coming up. It wasn’t like him at all to be so careless when it came to academia.

(He blamed it on oxytocin. Having a scientific scapegoat for his constantly wandering mind was rather convenient at times like these). 

When lunchtime finally rolled around, Misono shuffled towards the cafeteria, moving a bit more slowly than he normally might have. Tetsu and Mahiru were already seated by the time he arrived, engaged in what presumably was an important conversation considering neither of them noticed his arrival (his interest fell to sub-zero when he realized that the topic of their “important discussion” was whether or not plants were actually sentient and planning an uprising to enslave all of humanity).

Misono sat down, nudging Tetsu to steal his attention away from plant oriented conspiracy theories.

“Oh.” Tetsu looked over at him in surprise, expression immediately softening. “Hi, shorty.”

“Let me run something by you, Misono,” Mahiru said in lieu of a proper greeting. “So, let’s just say that hypothetically plants are hyper-intelligent gods-”

“Leave me out of your ridiculous plant discourse, Shirota!”

“Hey, it isn’t _my_ plant discourse-blame Tetsu for starting this whole conversation!” 

“I presumed as much.” Misono sighed, glancing over at Tetsu in exasperation. “Yesterday he asked me if I thought grasshoppers had souls.”

Tetsu nodded. “Yeah. You never answered that.” 

“Because it's an absurd question!”

“You should hang a “no fun allowed” sign around your neck, Misono,” Mahiru muttered under his breath, an amused smile forming on his face. “It'd be a nice reminder.”

Misono glared at him for a moment before turning to Tetsu, intent on proving Mahiru wrong.

“Grasshoppers do not have souls, because from a scientific standpoint, souls do not exist. Our very consciousness, even as sentient beings, is nothing more than chemicals firing in various ways. The concept of a soul is a coping mechanism to deal with our own mortality.” Misono paused for breath, turning back to Mahiru with a self-satisfied expression on his face. “There, the question has been answered. Happy now, Shirota?”

Mahiru did not look impressed. “Yeah, fun answer, Misono. You sure showed me!”

“What does sentient mean?” Tetsu asked before Misono could muster up a properly furious response to Mahiru’s sarcasm. “Is it just a cinnamon for alive?”

“ _Synonym,_ Sendagaya-and no, not exactly. To put it simply, to be sentient is to be aware of one’s own existence and consciousness as a unique individual in relation to the rest of the world.”

“Huh….so that means grasshoppers don’t know they exist?”

“No, they don't.”

“What about dogs?”

“Possibly.”

“Cats?”

“Again, possibly-”

“-Fish?”

“No, and that’s enough questions!” 

Tetsu frowned in confusion, obviously trying to process the facts he’d been presented with. Misono had to suppress a smile. As exasperating as it could be sometimes, Misono still found Tetsu’s cluelessness sort of endearing. Cute, even (not that he’d ever use that word). 

Mahiru very loudly began cutting up the tough, overcooked cafeteria chicken with his flimsy plastic fork, and Misono suddenly remembered the box of onigiri that was sitting in his bag. He took the box out of his bag subtly, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the table so that he wouldn't have to see Tetsu’s expression. He felt so _stupid._ Misono was sure that if he had known a year ago that his future self would be making lunches for his….boyfriend (Misono still couldn’t even utilize the word in his thoughts without a fair amount of mental preparation), he probably would have built a time machine with the sole purpose of traveling forward to kick him in the shins for having turned into such a sappy moron.

“Sendagaya, I-I have….as promised...um...h-here. It’s food,” Misono mumbled stupidly as he slid the box over, immediately cringing at his words and wishing his past self would actually show up in that time machine and knock him unconscious, rendering him unable to embarrass himself further. 

A pause that was probably lengthened in Misono’s nervous mind ensued, and he ended up continuing to stumble over useless words. “I am not very experienced in the culinary arts, s-so don’t feel obligated to eat it if it doesn't taste good-” 

“Of course I’ll eat it,” Tetsu interrupted, opening the box to glance at the contents for a moment before looking up to give Misono a bright smile. “Thank you.”

“Onigiri?” Mahiru asked, obviously putting two and two together. “Wait a sec...they were for Tetsu? God, that makes much more sense!” He turned to Tetsu, continuing his ramble before Misono could stop him. “Misono was on the phone with me for like 3 hours fussing over what to make and asking for advice, telling me it was just for “practice.” I guess I should've known that wasn’t true!”

“S-shut up, Shirota! You're exaggerating!”

“No I'm not, that’s exactly what happened.”

Misono faltered before continuing with less conviction, “I...I just didn’t want him to get poisoned from the toxic waste that they serve at the cafeteria, that’s all!”

“If that’s the only reason, why didn’t you just let your cooks make it? They make your lunches usually, don’t they?” Mahiru smiled gently as Misono tried to stutter out a nonexistent excuse. “You can admit that you just wanted to do something special for him, Misono. There's nothing embarrassing about that.”

Misono opened his mouth to say that he was most certainly not embarrassed (a lie, of course), but was distracted as he noticed Tetsu staring at him affectionately, one hand resting his head and the other absentmindedly picking at now empty container in front of him.

“You're finished already?”

“Mhm. They were really good.”

Misono blushed at the praise, though he knew that Tetsu would probably have said the exact same thing even if he’d served charred possum meat. 

“Tomorrow's meal will be far superior!” He exclaimed loudly, more determined than ever. “And I'll make it all on my own, without Shirota’s help!”

Mahiru raised an eyebrow. “That's really romantic and all, but you literally tried to cook rice in a toaster yesterday, so-”

“Silence, Shirota! I’ve learned a lot about cooking since then!’

“Since yesterday?”

“I-I’m a fast learner!”

Misono scowled as Mahiru and Tetsu exchanged an amused glance at his expense. _Bastards._

\--

Misono struggled to concentrate on his schoolwork in independent study that afternoon. It was utterly foreign to him-before he’d been struck with these feelings for Tetsu, there was absolutely nothing that would have been capable of keeping him from doing his schoolwork. He probably could have studied through a category ten earthquake, provided that there was an important test coming up. But apparently, Tetsu’s mere existence trumped natural disasters in terms of potential distractions. _What a joke._

As soon as the final bell rang, Misono gathered his things and went to meet Tetsu outside of the school gates. They usually waited for his ride together, for no other reason than to have a few extra minutes to spend alone. Of course, Misono would never actually admit that this was the reason. He preferred to think that it was entirely Tetsu’s idea, and that he was merely tolerating his friend’s presence (The word “friend” still felt like a good one to describe their relationship. Misono didn't see why two people couldn’t be considered both friends and partners).

Tetsu was obviously very happy to see him despite the mere hour that had passed since they’d last been together. Misono wished he could return the enthusiasm properly without getting embarrassed.

“Hi shorty. How’d the studying go?” 

“It went perfectly fine without you there to distract me,” Misono huffed in mock offense. He certainly wasn’t about to admit to Tetsu that he’d managed to be a massive distraction even after he’d left. “You’re lucky that I have two free periods, or else I’d probably have a B average by now!”

Tetsu tilted his head in confusion. “Isn't a B average really good?”

“By my standards it’s atrocious! I have never received a B in my entire life, and I plan on keeping it that way.” 

_’At least not in any subject that matters…’_ he added mentally, souring as he wondered how badly gym class was going to drag down his GPA this semester.

“Oh.” Tetsu rubbed the back of his head, looking a bit guilty. “I can leave you alone to study during 8th period if you want.”

“N-no, that isn't necessary,” Misono said quickly, relieved when Tetsu’s guilty expression morphed into a smile. “As I said, I have two periods to study, so it isn't…” Misono trailed off, narrowing his eyes as a familiar car entered his peripheral vision. He felt his breath catch in his throat when he recognized it. Subconsciously, Misono moved a bit closer to Tetsu, tugging on his sleeve to get his attention. “Sendagaya, look.”

“What is it?”

Misono pointed in the most subtle way he could manage. “It’s that car again. The black one with the tinted windows that was outside my house. Don’t you remember?”

“Yeah. I remember.” Tetsu put a protective arm around him, glaring in the general direction of the car as if he was trying to intimidate whatever potentially terrifying individual might be behind the tinted windows. “It’s okay. I won’t let them get near you.”

Misono blushed, stifling his impulse to say something like _“I don’t need your help, bastard!”_ out of sheer force of habit. But Tetsu’s formerly irritating protective nature was apparently now just another quality that made Misono’s heart pound just a little bit faster. _Damn oxytocin, turning me into a sappy idiot again…_

He cleared his throat, regaining his bearings and mirroring Tetsu’s glare at the opaque windows of the car. “If they were really intent on kidnapping me, they’d have already done it. There’s been more than enough opportunities.”

“Maybe they want to wait until you’re totally alone.”

“Between you and my father, they ought to be prepared to wait a very long time.”

“Yeah. And even if I wasn't here, I think Mahiru would take over for me.”

“Shirota? What would he do, give the kidnapper a speech on how to be a better person?” 

Tetsu laughed softly, and Misono didn’t bother to suppress the smile that crossed his face for a moment. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d made someone laugh (unless people laughing _at_ him counted, in which case it would have been this morning when he’d tripped over a desk and landed face down on the floor, to be met with a chorus of chortling from his classmates).

Misono opened his mouth to complain about what a bunch of classless brutes his classmates were, but was cut off by the buzzing of his phone in his pocket as the annoying default ringtone sang, muffled slightly by the fabric. He took it out and flipped it open, pressing the “accept call” button when he saw Lily’s name on his caller ID.

“Lily, if you’re calling me to ask where I hid that hideous and inappropriate shirt you bought in Thailand, then don’t even bother-”

“Misono, please just listen.” Misono shut his mouth immediately, waiting with bated breath until Lily continued in the same urgent, somber tone. “There’s been an incident.”

An _incident?_ Lily's vagueness served only to increase Misono’s uneasiness about the situation. Whatever news his butler was delivering, it couldn't be good.

“What are you talking about Lily? Did someth-”

“-The police have just officially confirmed that another child was taken hostage this week-the Morima family’s eldest son. He was...” Lily paused for just a moment before continuing in an even lower voice, ”He was found dead this morning. His parents paid the ransom on time, but it didn’t stop the kidnappers from murdering him.”

Misono froze, eyes widening in horror as Lilly’s words slowly sank in. “....D-dead?”

“Yes-and to make matters worse, it turns out one of the household maids was responsible for handing him over, in return for a promised cut of the ransom money.”

 _This isn’t real._ A cold sweat rolled down Misono’s back, the panic increasing as the truth of the situation sunk into his mind. _Something like this can’t happen. Not now. Not when things are just getting back to normal._

The hand Misono held his phone in began shaking slightly, his insides feeling as if they'd suddenly been replaced with lead. He prayed that he was in some sort of terrible nightmare, that he’d wake up any minute safe in his bed.

“Lily…” Misono began in a hoarse voice, unsure if he even wanted to hear the obvious answer to his question. “Is...is father upset?”

“I’m afraid that to say he is merely upset would be a vast understatement. He flew off the rails and fired every servant in the house, myself included. Apparently he can no longer trust anyone but himself to protect you.” There was a pause, and Misono heard what sounded like the atmosphere of a train station in the background. His concern for himself was momentarily put on hold as he wondered whether Lily had anywhere to go. “Misono, I...I’m calling to warn you. When i left, he was packing bags for both of you as he booked a flight to france over the phone. A one way flight.”

Misono gripped his phone so tightly his knuckles went white, pressing the speaker into his ear as he frantically asked, “Lily, where are y-”

“-I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything more to help you. Get as far away from school as you can, he’ll be coming to pick you up himself.”

Lily hung up without another word. Misono knew that he must have been in a precarious situation himself, otherwise he'd never have been so brief. But he couldn't afford to worry about Lily any more than he already was at the current moment. He had to figure out what he was going to do about this disaster of a situation that had hit him out of nowhere with the force of an eighteen wheeler going 90.

“What happened?” Tetsu asked after a moment, his concerned expression intensifying as Misono grabbed his arm simply to keep himself grounded. “...Misono?”

Misono met his worried gaze, unsure of how to respond. Easily describing the magnitude of his life’s latest and greatest disaster was a skill Misono ought to have mastered by now, considering all of the practice he’d had these past few months-but even so, he was rendered completely speechless by Lilly’s news (perhaps more aptly described as his _warning_ ).

“I...I can’t go home,” He eventually managed to force out, still in a state of shock and denial at the thought of it. “My father’s lost his mind. He booked the two of us a one-way flight to france, and he’s probably on his way here to force me to come with him at this very moment.” 

Tetsu’s expression cycled through about ten different emotions before settling on firm denial. “No way. He can't just make you move to a whole new country if you don't want to.”

His tone was steady with conviction, and Misono almost wanted to laugh at the notion that Tetsu actually seemed to believe that their protests would even be _heard._ It wasn't as if they were taking a case to the supreme court-his father would be his judge, his jury, and his executioner, just like always. Arguing with Mikado Alicein was pointless, because Mikado Alicein always got what he wanted. Misono was sick of it. No comfy, artificial notion of safety was worth moving to a new country at the drop of a hat and cutting ties with everyone he held dear.

“You get a say in this, right?” Tetsu continued, his voice a bit more uncertain, perhaps due to Misono’s lack of a response. “He can't just decide to ship you out and not even ask-”

“-He can. Under the law, I'm essentially his property. My consent is not required for a decision like this.”

 _If only I was a year older,_ Misono thought, squeezing his fists tightly in frustration. _Just one year older, and he wouldn’t be able to force me to do anything._ Of course, Misono knew this was not entirely true. Even when he was of age, he would have to rely on his father financially until he completed his secondary education. He could technically get a part time job, but what sort of job wouldn’t fire him after his tenth sick day in a single month?

“That’s stupid. The law is stupid.” Tetsu said, clearly abandoning any arguments based in rationality rather than emotions. “Stay at the inn for now. He won't find you there.”

“Of course he will! In fact, considering your part in the whole bodyguard scheme, it’s probably the first place he’ll look!”

“My parents will just tell him you aren't there, then. If I explain what's happening to them they definitely won't mind lying since it's to help you.” Tetsu paused for a moment, an almost pleading quality in his voice when he continued, “I know I'm no good at coming up with plans and stuff, but trust me this time.”

Misono tried to steady his breathing, inhaling deeply before looking up from the sidewalk to meet Tetsu’s eyes. Tetsu held his gaze with a look of such tenacity that Misono could hardly believe this was the same boy he’d thought of as inexpressive for months. For a moment, Misono actually believed that Tetsu really _might_ be able to protect him from his father after all.

“I-I’ll follow you, then,” Misono mumbled after a few seconds of deliberation (he couldn’t afford to waste much time thinking about it) . “It’s certainly a better alternative to waiting here for my father to come and stuff me into a passenger plane.”

Tetsu nodded, and immediately reached out to offer his hand. Misono hesitated for a moment before closing the distance and lacing their fingers together. The fact that they were still in right front of the school and in plain sight of a fair amount of their peers was of no consequence to him right now-he had bigger things to worry about than embarrassing himself in front of classmates, and holding Tetsu’s hand was somehow grounding. Comforting, even. 

\--

They were only about a mile away from the inn, but to Misono it may as well have been a hundred miles. He had to take a break every block to collapse onto the curb in exhaustion. Tetsu offered to carry him a dozen times, all of which Misono immediately turned down (even in their current, dire situation, he wouldn't so much as consider being carried down the street like a child for the entire world to see). Misono eventually compromised by allowing Tetsu to carry his backpack, which had begun to feel as if it had been filled with bricks halfway through the trip.

“I texted my parents to let them know you’d be coming.” Tetsu said as they rounded another corner. “They’ve wanted to meet you for ages, so they're really excited.”

Misono chewed his lip nervously, not entirely convinced. “What if they decide they don’t like me?”

“They will like you.” 

“But what if they _don't?”_

“That's impossible.”

“How do you know?”

“Cuz you're you,” Tetsu said simply with a shrug, as if that would clear everything up. “What reason would they have not to like you?”

“Plenty of reasons,“ Misono murmured, looking at the ground and kicking a small rock on the sidewalk halfheartedly. “If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly popular amongst our peers-”

“That’s just because they’re intimidated.”

Tetsu said this with such conviction that Misono almost believed him, despite how obviously ludicrous the mere idea of it was. As much as Misono hated to admit it, Sakuya was right. He _was_ inherently unlikable to most people. 

“Hey.” Tetsu’s voice was gentle as he rubbed his thumb over the back of Misono’s hand in a soothing gesture. “People at school are mean cuz they don’t bother trying to understand you. But my parents aren't like that.”

Misono hoped that Tetsu was right. Being hated by almost everyone he'd ever met was not a good feeling, even if they were mostly classless brutes that could fit their entire brains on a teaspoon with room to spare.

A few minutes of agonizing cardio later, Tetsu had stopped in front of what must have been the inn. Misono had never even seen it from the outside before. It looked quite big for a traditional onsen, though still much smaller than any of the western style hotels his father had stock shares in. Misono hadn’t ever been to a hot springs before. His doctor had recommended it once when he was twelve and had been struck with a bout of pleurisy-he’d said something about the steam being a good holistic way to clear his lungs-but Mikado had shot down the idea instantly because Misono didn’t know how to swim (which apparently put him at risk of drowning in three feet of water. His father's seemingly endless paranoia when it came to his safety was far from a new occurrence). 

Misono swallowed heavily as Tetsu led him through the doors. Even with all of the reassurance he'd given him, the prospect of meeting Tetsu’s parents was still incredibly nerve wracking. Misono couldn’t stop worrying that he wouldn’t measure up to their expectations. He had no idea what he would do if they happened to decide that they disapproved of his relationship with Tetsu after all. 

He followed Tetsu into a room behind the front desk, stuffed full of suitcases and various items of outerwear. Misono assumed it must be a particularly disorganized luggage room/coat check. A middle aged couple were rummaging through files that rested in several big metal drawers along each of the walls, too focused to even realize that they had company. The first thing Misono noticed was how tall they both were, which wasn’t a huge surprise considering the state of their son. The woman was dressed in a plain yukata with her blonde hair tied back in a tight bun, whereas the man wore a plain shirt and tie as if he’d just come from a regular office job. When they looked up to see who’d come in, Misono immediately took notice of the woman’s striking and familiar blue eyes. 

“Oh! You're here!” The woman exclaimed in a slight accent that Misono couldn’t pinpoint. She rushed up to him, clasping his hands in excitement. “Hello there! Misono, right?” 

Misono blinked at her in surprise for a moment, before hastily nodding. 

“Oh, I’m so happy you’re here! We’ve been trying to get Tetsu to bring you around for ages!” Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at him. “You can call me Akio.”

“Call me Teru.” Her husband echoed. 

Misono was not used to being allowed to refer to adults so casually-nor was he used to _them_ referring to _him_ casually, for that matter. He was the son of a billionaire, after all, and there were very few people who could manage not to let that knowledge seep into their interactions with him.

“...P-pleased to meet you both.”

He bowed his head slightly, as if he were greeting one of his father’s high status business partners. Tetsu’s parents exchanged a glance, eyebrows raised and mouths upturned in twin expressions of amusement. 

“So formal!” 

“No need for those high-society manners here, kid. We aren't that kind of family.”

Misono didn’t know what to say. He wrung his hands nervously and looked to Tetsu for help, who just shrugged and smiled, which was an annoyingly blase reaction to what Misono considered a dire situation. Akio seemed to sense his discomfort, and walked over to put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Please don’t be nervous. We’re ecstatic to finally meet you!”

“It’s about time, too.” Teru put the file he’d been flipping through down and smiled at Misono. “You’re practically all our son talks about lately.”

“Everything out of his mouth is “Misono this” or “Misono that.” He’s really crazy about you.”

Misono blushed and glanced over at Tetsu again, who didn’t look very embarrassed by his parents comments. It went without saying that Misono would have been positively mortified if his father had said something like that, but the thought of Mikado making any positive remarks about their relationship-if he were to find out about it, that is-was laughable. But Misono could hardly imagine Tetsu gushing about him to his parents. For one Tetsu was not very talkative to begin with and two Misono couldn’t imagine what he'd have to say. _“Today Misono called me a brainless troglodyte before tripping over his own shoelaces and falling down half a flight of stairs. Isn't he dreamy?”_

“So, Tetsu,” Akio began, turning her attention back to her son. “Not that I mind, but out of curiosity, what prompted such a short-notice sleepover?”

“Oh. Uh.” Tetsu thought for a moment with a furrowed brow, obviously trying to come up with some sort of excuse that didn’t involve Misono’s newfound status as a fugitive. “Well, his family...they’re fixing their house. It was kind of a last minute type thing.”

Tetsu was horrible at lying, probably from a lack of practice. His parents exchanged knowing glances (though Misono had a feeling that whatever they were suspecting was nowhere close to the truth of the situation).

“W-we have asbestos in the walls,” Misono added in an attempt to make the story sound more convincing.”The whole place needs to be fumigated.”

Tetsu nodded enthusiastically. “Uh-huh. Pesto is in the walls.”

“Right….very convincing story, you two,” Akio chuckled, staring between them fondly. “Well, in any case, it's a lovely surprise! Anyone who's important to my son is important to me as well, so I look forward to getting to know you, Misono.”

Misono tried to return her brilliant smile but failed and resorted to simply nodding his head politely. She smiled wider in response, taking a step forward and eyeing him from head to toe, as if performing some sort of visual inspection. Misono remained rigid as a board. He'd never felt quite as self conscious about his appearance as he did in that moment.

“Tetsu did say you were small for your age. _And_ very handsome.” She gazed at him in clear approval, only looking away when the door to the inn slid open to reveal a gaggle of loud tourists. Tetsu’s parents exchanged tired glances, and Akio sighed in obvious disappointment. “Ah...I’d love to talk some more now, but I really ought to get back to the desk. Tetsu, why don’t you show him around?”

“Yeah.” Tetsu picked up his and Misono’s backpacks, motioning for Misono to follow him. “C’mon, let’s drop our stuff off in my room first.”

Akio and Teru waved at them as they left, and Misono trailed after Tetsu down the hallway, coming to a stop in front of a door that Tetsu unlocked with the key around his neck. He slid it open and stepped aside to allow Misono to enter first, following him inside before shutting the door behind him with a soft clack. 

The room itself was rather barren. There was no furniture beyond a small wooden wardrobe and a tatami mat on the floor, nor was there any sort of clutter or signs the room had been lived in at all. The only thing that differentiated it from any other room they'd passed in the inn was a framed piece of calligraphy-the word _black_ written in black ink. Misono would have mistaken it for pretentious modern art if it had been in anyone else's possession.

“I was in the calligraphy club in middle school,” Tetsu said, following his gaze. “I just joined cuz I wanted to learn how to write neater so I could make signs for the inn. This was the first thing I wrote with a brush pen.”

“Why “black?”

“I dunno. They didn't tell us what to write so I wrote the first word that came to mind.” Tetsu shrugged, surveying his own room as if he too was seeing it for the first time. “I don’t own much stuff. Didn’t decorate much either. You must think it’s kind of plain, huh?”

“No, it’s….minimalist.”

Tetsu smiled. “That just sounds like a fancier word for plain.” 

Misono thought of denying that, but ended up just returning his amused smile. Tetsu placed his bag down on the floor, exhaling heavily.

“So, uh…I guess I should go let my parents know about your dad...like you said, he’ll probably come looking for you.”

 _...Oh._

The distraction of meeting Tetsus parents had made Misono momentarily forget the real reason he was staying with them. _That’s right. I’m a fugitive now._ The reality of his situation was crushing, and Misono’s good spirits sank faster than the titanic.

“If you want we can give you a room to yourself, but I was kind of thinking maybe you'd stay in my room tonight,” Tetsu continued a bit hesitantly, as if he’d noticed the suddenly bleak atmosphere, but was pretending for Misono’s sake that he hadn’t. “Like a sleepover, sort of.”

Misono nodded again, unable to meet his eyes. He couldn't focus on being nervous about sharing a room with Tetsu. It was finally sinking in that his old life was gone, maybe forever. He had no idea when he'd see Lily and the servants again, or even _if_ he’d see him again. Misono knew his actions were justified, but he couldn’t shake the felt that he was betraying the only family he had left. Would his father hate him for leaving? Or would he simply try and pretend he didn't exist, just as he'd done with Mikuni?

Misono didn't notice that he’d begun tearing up until he saw Tetsu’s expression, concern etched into every line. He ran a sleeve across his eyes, thinking that the last thing he ought to be doing right now was crying in front of Tetsu, but moments after he’d wiped the tears away, his vision went blurry again. _Damn it._

“A-as you said, you ought to go inform your parents of the situation,” Misono said in the steadiest voice he could manage, willing himself to hold back his tears at least until Tetsu left. “My father could show up at any moment, so...”

“Right, okay...I'll be right back.”

Tetsu’s voice had sounded oddly conflicted, as if he was unsure about leaving Misono alone in such a state. But for all they knew, Mikado could be on his way to the inn at that very moment. They didn’t exactly have the time to sit around idly and chat about their feelings. 

Misono sank to the floor the moment Tetsu was out the door, hugging his knees to his chest and resting his head on them. He wasn't a very loud crier. The tears fell silently, interrupted only by the occasional sniffle and choked back sob. Misono wished Lily were with him-at least his butler’s presence would have provided some sort of small comfort among all of this madness. He wanted to at least know that Lily was _alright,_ that he wasn’t in some sort of dangerous situation. The thought of him going back to his previous occupation (if you could call it that) now that he was no longer working for their family made Misono want to throw up.

“Okay, I told them what’s going on, so everything's….Misono?”

Tetsu had re-entered the room, his voice breaking off in concern as soon as his eyes fell on Misono’s huddled mass against the wall. Misono once again tried to wipe away his tears, but when they refused to stop falling he simply resorted to covering his face instead, ashamed that he couldn’t regain his composure. He didn’t want Tetsu seeing him like this. Crying made him feel weak, out of control…. _childish._ Misono wished Tetsu would leave to spare him the humiliation, but at the same time the idea of being alone during all of this was terrifying.

“Misono, hey...” Tetsu murmured softly, walking over to crouch down in front of him, an arm extended in concern. “Are you okay?”

Misono didn’t respond, as that would have required him to uncover his face, which he was sure was blotchy and red from crying. He probably looked about as pathetic as he felt. A few seconds passed in silence, then Misono felt himself being gently pulled into a hug by Tetsu, which on some level he’d been ready for-Tetsu was more of a physical person, so his attempts at comforting people were often nonverbal. Misono tensed up for a moment before slumping over, not feeling strong enough to support his own weight.

Tetsu began to thread his fingers through Misono’s hair, stroking him gently just as he’d done when they were stuck in the attack together. It had an almost instantaneous calming effect, and Misono’s trembling ebbed slightly, hands slowly moving to uncover his face and rest in his lap again. Tetsu continued to pet him and Misono let out an involuntary sigh of contentment. As a general rule, Misono didn’t allow people touch him very often (not that many people really tried to). He thought that maybe it would be a good idea to start being more tolerant of it before he became completely starved for physical affection. 

“Everything's gonna be fine. Your dad definitely will come to his senses eventually,” Tetsu said quietly after what could have been minutes or hours-Misono wasn’t exactly keeping track of the time. “How do you feel?” 

That was a difficult question. Misono was feeling several different emotions at one, some of which directly contradicted one another. In general, however, they were positive feelings. Tetsu’s presence had calmed him down to the point where he felt almost sleepy. 

‘“I feel...safe, I suppose...” Misono mumbled shyly, fidgeting nervously and averting his eyes before deciding to be more specific and adding in a tiny voice, “U-um, you...you make me feel safe.”

Misono could feel himself blushing. He’d never intentionally said something so embarrassing before. It was so _sappy,_ like a line straight out of a shoujo manga (more specifically, straight out of the mouth of a shoujo _heroine_ , not the cool, charming hero). But he felt like he owed Tetsu some honesty for once. Misono really did feel safe with him, even beyond the physical sense. He felt safe emotionally, like he could open up and be vulnerable around Tetsu without fearing ridicule. For someone as guarded as Misono, this was incredibly rare. 

After quite a few moments of mutual silence, Misono worked up the courage to look up, nervously awaiting some sort of reaction from Tetsu. The younger boy was staring at him in what seemed to be complete and utter shock (Misono supposed that his surprise was warranted, considering his own very uncharacteristic behavior). 

“Misono,” Tetsu began, his voice sounding rather strained. A long pause punctuated his words, and when he finally continued, Misono thought he was at least several inches closer. “Can I...uh, maybe….would it be ok if I kissed you?”

 

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol this whole thing is so stupid im sorry
> 
> anyways my computers been broken for ages but im getting it fixed so ill upload more frequently. this story is winding up so i wanna finish it soon and i’m gonna do a series of oneshots based on prompts next bc i refuse to let this ship die even if the servamp fandom keeps getting smaller so like, if u wanna send me prompts on tumblr,,,,that would be Welcome


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